


It's Okay to Just be Pluto

by stoneNautilus



Category: No Straight Roads (Video Game)
Genre: Becoming a functional family unit!!, Fluff, Found Family, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Happy Ending, Headcanons babey, Light Angst, M/M, Mostly fluff with a side of existential dread and stalker fans, Mutual Pining, Post-Canon, Rated T for swearing, Slow Burn, That Good Domestic Shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 07:15:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 104,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26968090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stoneNautilus/pseuds/stoneNautilus
Summary: DJ Subatomic Supernova is an incredibly busy man. He has music to make, new and improved satellites (that won't crash) to build, and concerts to plan for. Nothing terribly difficult. It's simply part of the slow and arduous climb from mediocrity into eternal relevancy, a climb that the DJ has been growing to perfect over years of work.So why, after years of work, has fraternizing with 1010 and their manager become more fulfilling than the DJ's lifelong goal?
Relationships: 1010 & DJ Subatomic Supernova, 1010 & Neon J. (No Straight Roads), DJ Subatomic Supernova/Neon J.
Comments: 634
Kudos: 1132





	1. Just a Quick Break

**Author's Note:**

> So, I first looked at No Straight Roads and said "Hm. What a charming game with great character design! :)"  
> And then it became a hyperfixation. OOPS  
> I hope y'all enjoy <3

Sure. Freeing up the Grand Qwaza to more indie artists made sense after the whole Bunk Bed Junction fiasco. NSR wouldn’t want another uprising right after the last disaster, and ever since everyone had been allowed to perform, the Vinyl City blackouts had effectively disappeared. It was a decision made with _some_ form of deliberation behind it.

Unfortunately for DJ Subatomic Supernova, after two weeks of radio silence, the new concert schedule for the NSR artists had been thrown together on a whim. Even worse, the NSR artists only discovered their performance dates _after_ the posters had been adhered to every surface in Vinyl City, meaning that the DJ now had exactly four days until his next concert.

He had learned of this mere hours ago.

And yet, in spite of the deadline he was currently under, the DJ couldn’t endure another note of his own music. The track was by no means atrocious. In fact, the DJ didn’t remember ever creating a _bad_ track, each song he'd made was deserving of attention. It was just that this track in particular wasn’t up to his usual standard. It had simply grown more repetitive and bland the longer the DJ forced himself to work on it.

The thought of scrapping the piece at this hour and creating something entirely new was too much, and pushing through and simply finishing the track was almost a worse alternative.

So, despite the date looming over his head, the DJ searched for a way to distract himself, if for only a few minutes. Anything to get him out of the penthouse he aimlessly wandered through, so that he could think about anything other than his own music and come back fresh and ready to work again.

Normally, DJ Subatomic Supernova didn’t believe in luck. It was impractical and had zero evidence to support it. Tonight however, if luck existed, it seemingly favored the DJ.

Thrown haphazardly onto one of the hooks of his coat rack was a golden chain that certainly didn’t belong here. Grabbing the chain and studying it brought back a memory of a week ago, when the DJ’s satellite had been completely trashed (for the greater good of Vinyl City, he supposed).

He had found it on the cement, and according to Tatiana it likely belonged to Neon J, the manager of that obnoxious robotic boyband she hired on, before he dropped it and left the scene. He hadn’t returned it yet because the Metro Division was an absolute nightmare to traverse, and Neon J and his band were irksome to no end.

The fact that returning this chain had become more desirable than working on the track spoke volumes.

The DJ slipped on his shoes and threw the chain into his jacket pocket. He adjusted his headphones as he pulled up a map on his phone and searched for Neon J’s contact, eventually finding it near the bottom of his conversations. The last texts sent were several months old and a simple reminder of a moved NSR meeting.

The DJ tapped at his screen and sent the first text between them in months.

**It seems I have come into possession of something of yours. I will be stopping by to drop it off.**

He took his leave, locking the door behind him and taking the elevator down to the ground level of his building, adjusting his headphones over his helmet before setting off into Vinyl City.

* * *

After an hour of walking and public transport, time spent listening to some of some of the best tracks he’d made thus far, the DJ finally arrived at Barraca Mansion, a garish place surrounded by an even worse District. The civilians constantly screaming over the amusement park attractions scattered throughout, the obnoxious neon lights, and the sheer amount of merchandise in every store window all blurred together into one migraine inducing scene.

It was still better than working on the track.

Approaching the mansion at the end of the oddly empty square, the DJ was met with gates. Attached along the whole of the fence surrounding the mansion were numerous cameras, one of which pointed at a button and a speaker on a post by the gate. He wasted no time in making use of them.

Pushing the button and prepared to speak, the DJ was instead met with the voice of one of those dreadful robots.

“Hey there,” it began, “welcome to Barraca Mansion, 1010’s home! For information on 1010, check out our gift shop just down the road and to the left! If you’re looking for tickets to our concert, go to our website. And last but not least, if you want to leave a message for 1010-”

The DJ slapped the button again, stopping the prerecorded message. “This is DJ Subatomic Supernova of NSR. I’ve come to speak with the manager of 1010.”

The speaker stayed silent for twenty seconds, before shuffling was heard on the other end and a voice only slightly higher than the original one spoke. “How do we know you’re really the DJ?”

“Isn’t there a camera pointing at me currently? Go check the feed.”

Again, a different voice answered him, this one lower than both the voices thus far. “Oh no, we can see you. It’s just that you could have a really convincing costume.”

Dear god. This was already turning out to be a _wonderful_ trip. “Are you serious?”

The same voice replied. “It’s happened before!”

“Listen, I sent a text to your manager just before I left. Go check with him if you still don’t believe me,” the DJ groaned.

Yet again, a new voice chimed in. “Yeah, no. He’s busy right now. Give us something else to work with.”

The DJ sighed and pulled the chain from his pocket and showed it to the camera. “I have this. I believe your manager dropped it while all of the NSR artists were at the Grand Quaza, right after the satellite issue was dealt with.”

There was muttering on the other end.

“Wait, that thing looks like the real deal.”

“Satellite?”

“What’s he talking about?”

“Maybe it was before any of us were back online?”

“How’d he get that thing really?”

“Maybe he stole it?”

“How? He’d get punched before he got anywhere close.”

The DJ sat back and waited, tuning out their frivolous discussion until the first voice spoke back up.

“Okay! So, we’re almost convinced. We just have one more question for you: what are our names?”

“What?”

“You know! Our names. If you can name even one of us, that’ll confirm your identity.”

“I don’t know any of your names. Why would I know that?”

“You don’t even want to try?” It asked.

“No! I want to return this damned chain instead of playing 20 questions with a bunch of AI lacking a singular hint of actual intelligence.”

More murmuring, quickly turned to snickering.

Finally, the autotuned harmony of all the voices shouted through the speaker.

“ _You passed~!_ ”

As if the migraine from the visuals alone wasn't awful enough. “Excuse me?”

“We knew the real DJ wouldn’t know or care about our names, and... You didn’t! So you passed. Congrats!”

“Wonderful. I really am ecstatic over here,” he deadpanned.

“Glad to hear it!” the voice said, “anyways, we can only disarm security for a little under a minute, so get in here fast and we’ll meet you at the door!”

The speaker shut off and there was a click at the gates. The DJ pushed them open and walked toward the front door as the gates automatically shut behind him. The front lawn was just as gaudy as the rest of the District, with neon palm trees and neon lawn flamingos scattered about.

The front door was about par for the course by now. Neon everywhere, with zero regard for the poor onlookers who had to endure this monstrosity of a property.

Thankfully, the DJ didn’t have to stare at this sight for long, as the door swung open moments after he stopped. He was met with four nearly identical robots staring up at him with oddly unsettling grins.

Weren’t there five of them? Where was the white one?

He didn’t get time to ponder his question as the yellow one waved his hand with a flourish, moving out of the way. “Come in!” he grinned. The other three moved out of the way as well.

The DJ stepped into the mansion, which was… Actually decorated somewhat tastefully. The entryway was mostly warm browns and some gold, with accents of red throughout. On the walls were portraits of each of the robots, plus a piece of them all and their manager. A plush rug sat just within the doorway, and the room seemed to lead to the rest of the mansion.

The yellow one stepped back into the DJ’s field of vision. He struck a pose and motioned to the room around him. “Welcome to Barraca Mansion! 1010’s _sexy_ home-”

The blue one burst out into laughter. “Oh my god dude, shut up. You sound just like Rin.”

The yellow one straightened back up. “Nah, I think I was a little off. I think I forgot to do the hair flip with it all,” he snickered.

The green one joined in. “Even without the hair flip, you were pretty spot on.”

“How would you even flip your hair in the first place? You’ll just end up knocking something over,” the red one added.

The DJ took a step forward, silencing the robots. “Anyways. Would one of you lead me to your manager?”

They all looked between each other for a moment before they began to make their way down the hall. “Yeah, just follow us,” the red one said.

Finally.

They led him through the entryway and into what seemed to be the main room of the building, which was in complete disarray. On the wall was an enormous flatscreen TV with some sort of paused racing game displayed. Scattered around the TV and two couches were beanbags, pillows, and blankets. There was even a blanket fort in the making.

As they passed by the disaster area, the yellow one spoke up. “So, Mr. DJ! Hypothetically speaking, which types of games are better? Ones where you get to beat each other up and use cool move combos and actual strategy, or games where you just drive a car around and try to get in front?”

Why did he think that this was a good idea, again? “Why does my opinion matter? This is trivial nonsense.”

“It’s for science,” the blue one told him. “Isn’t your District all about science?”

“I work mostly in astrophysics and astronomy, not ranking video games.”

The green one spun around and moonwalked as he spoke. “You should. It’s the best science!”

The DJ could feel his brain cells dying off, one by one. “It’s not a science.”

The yellow one rolled his eyes with his entire body. “Just answer the question, dude.”

“Fine,” the DJ grumbled, “by the way they were described, I’d say the first one sounds better.”

The yellow one pointed at the blue one. “Suck it! We’re playing Mortal Combat later.”

Every robot that wasn’t the yellow one began complaining. The DJ once again forced himself to tune out this nonsense until they stopped in a room that looked promising.

The room was cozy, with a fireplace and a couch in front of it. The walls were lined with bookshelves and the occasional picture of navy vessels. One lamp cast a warm glow upon the room, and the floor was lined with a beige carpet.

Yet nobody was in here.

“Seems like we had the wrong room in mind,” the green one said.

The red one turned around and took off down another hallway. “Guess we’ll have to keep looking.”

As if the DJ couldn’t wait to spend more time around these imbeciles.

They led him down more hallways, muttering among themselves. Occasionally one would glance back at the DJ for a split second before the mutterings grew more hushed.

Eventually, they stopped in front of a new door.

“Okay, he _should_ be in here,” the blue one said, throwing the door open with a theatrical motion.

The room before them was a laundry room with a few stained turtlenecks.

The red one let out a gasp. “I forgot! It _isn’t_ laundry day. Of course he wouldn’t be in here!”

The yellow one shook its head and sighed, slapping the DJ on the back with _far_ too much force. “Well, sorry about that again, DJ.”

“Wait, I’ve got an idea,” the blue one said, “why don’t you stay here for a bit, and we’ll split up and look around. That way, we can cover more ground, and you don’t have to keep following us around!”

That actually wasn’t the worst idea. It would be less work on the DJ’s end, too.

“I don’t see why not.”

All of the robots grinned at each other.

“See you _later~!_ ” they harmonized, taking off in different directions.

All of them except the green one.

The green one stood silently, not moving until the footsteps and snickers of the others to fade away. He turned to the DJ at that, staring him down.

“Aren’t you going to go search for your manager as well?”

“We were never looking for him. They’re just messing with you.”

He never would have guessed.

“So. What are you trying to do?”

The green one shrugged. “I was going to tell you that you can give the chain thing to me and you can be on your way. I’ll get it to our dad later.”

Now, that was new. “Your… Dad?”

“Our manager. Captain. Neon J. The only guy around here who wears gold on purpose.”

“And you want me to trust you once again, after you all purposefully drug me around this place like a toy?” The DJ questioned.

The green one shifted its weight, glancing at the ground. “You’re not supposed to be in here. We aren’t even supposed to know how to turn off security.”

“And? It’s not my problem that you all chose to let me in.”

The robot looked back up with a frown. “Well, yeah, but if you give me the bedangle thing-”

The DJ cut him off, raising his hand. “I’m not trusting you with anything after this little _adventure_. Just take me to Neon J so I can get this all over with and go home. I’m a busy man, you know.”

The green one sighed, kicking at the floor before turning and walking down the hall. “Yeah. Okay. Follow me.”

They retraced their steps somewhat, though they soon turned right instead of going straight. From there on it was a confusing mess of a house with too many doors and too many plaques on the walls to keep track of.

Finally, at the end of a hallway, the robot stopped. It turned away from the door and lowered its voice. “So, he’s in here.”

“Ah. Good.” The DJ reached for the doorknob, only to be cut off by the robot.

“Wait a second. I wanted to ask if you could leave out the part about us getting you in? Please?”

“And say what, instead? That I broke in?”

The robot grinned and nodded. “That works!”

“Absolutely not.”

The DJ grabbed the doorknob and swung open the door as the robot booked it down the hallway. Before him was a plain looking room, with tools of all sorts lining the walls, and drawers everywhere.

On the far end of the room was Neon J. He lacked his extravagant coat, instead wearing a stained red turtleneck that made him look far smaller than usual. He was hunched over a table with something that looked a lot like the leg of one of those robots on it. Above the table was a large metal frame with a camera pointed at the table attached to some sort of sliding mechanism. The camera had a wire running from it to Neon J’s… Face? Monitor?

Almost immediately after the door opened, a soft ping came from Neon J.

He didn’t turn around. He simply set down his tools and began to adjust something on the camera. “Is it an emergency? If not, I’ll call it quits in an hour.” Even when he seemed calm, his voice boomed through the room.

The DJ pulled the chain from his pocket. “I have one of your chain… Things. I actually texted you over an hour ago-”

Neon J flew out of his seat the moment the DJ spoke. The wire was torn from his monitor as he grabbed a crowbar from the wall and spun around in a practiced motion.

“How’d you get into my house? What have you done to my troops?!” He barked, marching forward. Despite his thin stature, he held the crowbar at the ready in an offensive position. The DJ had no doubt that he knew how to use it.

The DJ raised his hands as he tensed up. “Your robots let me in. They’re fine.”

Neon J tightened his grip on the crowbar. “They’re _androids_. Furthermore, they don’t know how to work the security system!”

The DJ scoffed, attempting to ignore the crowbar. “Perhaps not last you checked. However, if memory serves, they disabled the security, let me in, and proceeded to lead me through this labyrinth of a house and then attempted to leave me for dead.”

He raised the crowbar, taking a step forward. “What are you talking about! They would never- wait. Yes, they would. That’s exactly what they would do.” Neon J sighed, loosening his grip on the crowbar and walking back to his desk. He felt the area above the desk before placing the crowbar back onto the wall. “I suppose I get to change every single password on the security terminal now. Great.”

The DJ let his shoulders relax. “Yes, wonderful.” He took a step forward, holding out the chain once more. “Now, would you like your belonging back-”

“No. Stay there. Do not approach,” Neon J ordered, grabbing at the camera and following the wire all the way to its end before plugging it back into his monitor. He turned the camera around and pointed it at the DJ. “Make sure whatever you’re holding is visible.”

The DJ held out the chain as Neon J clicked a button on the camera. He paused for a moment before standing straight once more. He unplugged the wire and held out his hand. “How’d you get a hold of that?”

Dropping the chain into Neon J’s hand, the DJ shrugged. “I discovered it by the Grand Quaza after the satellite situation.”

Neon J closed his fist around the chain and nodded. “That would make sense, wouldn’t it?” he muttered. “Anyways, thank you for returning this. Though next time, if you need to visit, you should call.”

“Why would I do that? Texting is easier.”

“Not for me. If you call, I'll actually notice that. In case you haven’t noticed, I can’t traditionally see without my camera or being connected to the phone I'm using,” Neon J said with a handwave, “it’s a hassle to take pictures of my phone screen every time something goes off while I’m working, and it’s even worse to connect to the phone and then reconnect to the camera. Call if it’s important.”

“Fine, though I doubt that I will be visiting again anytime soon,” the DJ said, “in fact, I think it’s time this visit draws to a close as well.”

He turned around and began to walk down the hallway, stopping at the first intersection and glancing down each of the corridors.

Which one had he come from again?

Neon J approached from behind, his metal feet tapping against the wooden floor. “Want some help, there?”

“I suppose.”

Neon J stepped in front of the DJ and turned left, folding his hands behind his back, “Keep up then, and remember the route just in case. I’m taking you to the side door.”

“Side door? Why didn’t your robots tell me to use that door instead of dealing with the front gate?”

“Again, they’re androids, and highly intelligent ones at that. They’re basically human with zero organic parts.”

“That doesn’t answer my question as to why they felt the need to torment me.”

Neon J stopped entirely so he could roll his nonexistent eyes, doing the same motion as the yellow robot had done earlier. He turned around to the DJ and placed his hands on his hips. “Oh, please, they may have been rude, but they weren’t trying to _torment_ you.”

“How would you know? You weren’t there.”

“Because they’re four teenage boys. Also, I live with them. I don’t need to be there to know for a fact that they regularly make poor decisions.”

“I see,” the DJ said, beginning to walk again. “However, I’m curious as to how you knew that I only interacted with four of them.”

Neon J nearly stopped once more, going quiet as the pings from his radar filled the silence for a time. 

“Rin’s still offline after the battle with Bunk Bed Junction. Compared to his brothers, the damage he suffered was nearly catastrophic, and my factory was completely unsalvageable.” For once, his voice didn't echo off every surface. “I’ve had to rewire him by hand and completely rebuild his leg. He lost fingers and some of his skin, and his chest had nearly caved in. The only thing that was spared is his memory chip, thank _god_.”

Oh.

The DJ tilted his head. “Do you think he’ll be back online soon?”

“Hopefully. His leg is nearly finished, but then I need to reassemble him. I’m thinking it may take two or more days of work, but that’s better than nothing. The sooner I get him back online, the sooner things can get back to normal for my household.” Neon J stopped, straightening his back as he opened a door in front of them, stepping outside and motioning for the DJ to follow.

The DJ stepped out onto a mostly dark pathway, leading to a less ornate gate than the front one.

Neon J took the lead again, clasping his hands together with a clap. “Anyways! I cannot apologize enough for my troops’ behavior, even if they weren’t tormenting you. It was unacceptable and I will be speaking to them about it,” he said, typing a code into the gate.

“That is very much appreciated,” the DJ said with a nod.

He stepped away from the pin pad. “I’m glad. Thank you again for returning my property, DJ Subatom-” Neon J paused, folding his arms and squaring his shoulders. “Actually, no. I’m not saying all that every time I refer to you by name outside of meetings. That’s ten whole syllables. Pick something shorter for me to call you.”

The DJ scoffed. “Excuse me? What’s wrong with DJ Subatomic Supernova? It slips right off the tongue.”

Neon J leaned against the fence post, raising his hand and counting off. “First, no it doesn’t. Second, it still doesn’t, because I don’t have a tongue. Third, it’s pretentious and doesn’t even sound like a name. Fourth-”

“Okay, fine!” the DJ groaned, “how about DJ Subatomic?”

“That’s still six syllables, and still too formal.”

“Fine, fine,” the DJ sighed, “you may refer to me as Nova.”

Neon J didn’t seem amused. “What I’m asking for is your non-stage name.”

“Yes, I’m aware.”

“So why do you keep giving me your stage name?”

“I’m not. I had my name changed. My legal name is Dr. Subatomic Supernova.”

Neon J’s monitor clanged into the fence post as he leaned back with a groan. “Yeah. Okay. That’s fair, then.”

Nova took a step forward, grabbing the gate and swinging it open. “Well, it’s been a real pleasure, Neon J-”

“ _Eugh_. No. Just call me J.”

“J. I’ll be leaving now.”

J nodded, pointing down the path. “Head due west for about five minutes and you’ll find yourself on a street with a bus stop.”

Nova began walking down the path. “Yes, understood. Goodbye.”

There was no reply aside from a door shutting.

This had been an infinitely worse venture than Nova had hoped, but at least he hadn’t thought about his music in a while.

Too bad he now had no excuse not to get to work.


	2. Something's Missing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh shit!! back at it with ANOTHER CHAPTER
> 
> Thank you so much everyone for your feedback so far!!! Your comments make me smile so wide it hurts omg <3 I appreciate every single one of you so much you don't even know!!!

Nova was dissatisfied with his latest track.

He had attempted to compose a song that would take inspiration from the constellation Cetus, the sea monster, or in modern interpretations, the whale. In this song, he’d meant to capture the chilling vastness of space, the depth of the ocean, along with a calm, yet awe inspiring melody reminiscent of a whale’s song. He’d spent the past few days holed up in his penthouse, perfecting the song, and yet it had come out completely hollow. It was about as complex as the music he was subjected to as he stood in line to pay for his groceries.

Yes, Nova was stuck in the self checkout line as he waited to scan Mr. Dodo Ice Pops and a rotisserie chicken at eleven PM. This, truly, was a high point for DJ Subatomic Supernova.

Due to the sudden NSR reform, most of Nova’s assistants had been claimed by Tatiana so that all effort could go into reorganizing Vinyl City. The ones she’d left him were supposedly only to be used for “essential work”, a category that fetching his groceries _somehow_ didn’t fall under.

It was a shame he couldn’t get someone else to do his chores, because this sucked. The noise of the store was bothersome at best, and crimes against his ear drums at worst. He attempted to tune out the terrible music playing on the speakers, and he endured the irregular beeping of the scanners, but what finally made Nova reach for his headphones was the infant that had decided now would be a lovely time to begin screeching.

It was at that moment Nova realized his signature, handcrafted, _extremely expensive_ headphones had vanished. He would be performing at Club Planetarium tomorrow night, for the first time in ages, and he didn’t even have his headphones.

Wonderful. Absolutely stellar.

He took a step forward as the line finally moved and the infant shut its mouth for a few moments, allowing Nova to entertain the thought that maybe, just maybe, this store _wasn’t_ a decorated portal to hell. 

Just as he made it to a scanner, his phone’s ringtone blared throughout the store.

The infant’s wails started back up, combining with the ringtone to create an unholy abomination unfit for any ears.

With a groan, Nova grabbed his phone from his jacket pocket. Displayed on the screen was Neon J’s contact.

What on earth did _he_ want?

Well, Nova decided he wouldn’t be finding out now. He was an incredibly busy man, after all.

He declined the call and shoved his phone into his pocket, instead focusing his attention on finding the barcode for the chicken.

Just as he scanned the chicken and reached for the ice pops, his phone went off once more, earning Nova judgemental stares from the civilians around him. He huffed, grabbing his cell phone and accepting the call this time, bracing himself as he brought the speaker to his helmet. “What-”

J’s voice crackled through the speaker, loud enough to make Nova check to see if he’d accidentally enabled speakerphone. “Are you in Cast Tech currently?!”

Nova held the phone a distance from his head, just far enough to avoid permanent hearing loss, and just close enough to hear J over the humdrum of the civilians around him. “Why would I not be? I live here.”

A shaky laugh came through, distorted by excessive background noise. “Ah- Yes, of course. You would know Cast Tech, then. And how to navigate it. You can also see. Correct?”

Nova nodded at the phone, scanning the ice pops and moving on to paying. “Indeed, you’re correct in all categories mentioned.”

The phone spewed senseless noise for a good while until J spoke again. “Good. I need your help. I’ll be in Cast Tech in-”

“Now, I never said I was available.”

J made a noise on the other end, but Nova cut him off before he could object.

“You see, I have a concert tomorrow that I need to prepare for. I’ve been quite busy with that,” Nova said, grabbing the receipt. “Oh, and in addition to this, it seems my headphones have gone missing. I’ve been searching for them _all day_ , but to no avail.” He let out a dramatic sigh. “It’s absolutely draining. So, whatever it is you want, could it perhaps wait until... Sometime after tomorrow? I should be free by then.”

“What- Hell no!” J bellowed, “I am not waiting around! Haym and Purl-Hew managed to run off and I _know_ they’re in Cast Tech. If word gets out that- _Shit_!” some sort of screech that sounded quite like a tire came through the speaker, followed by some incoherent yelling before J was ranting again. “If the fans discover their position, your District will be swarmed, and who knows what they’ll do to my boys.”

“Oh my, you’re right!” Nova gasped, “they could sign autographs! Or worse, they might take pictures with their fans. How horrifying.”

“Listen here,” J hissed, “last time I let a ‘fan’ take a picture with one of my boys, they stole Zimelu’s foot, and that was at an event with heavy security. Imagine what’ll happen if a pack of them finds my boys wandering around alone!”

That… Was actually somewhat alarming.

With NSR’s current instability, there was no way they could afford to completely repair or potentially lose any member of the most popular boy band in Vinyl City. In the event where that happened, Tatiana would surely need to take more of Nova’s assistants to sort things out, more concerts would be postponed, and everything would be up in the air once more.

And hadn’t J mentioned that the androids were effectively human? Being torn to shreds was no way to expire.

Nova grabbed his grocery bag and made his way out of the store. “I don’t think I’d like to imagine too much,” he muttered. “How far did you say you were from Cast Tech?”

“I just entered the District.”

Nova set his bag on a bench and walked to the corner, peering down the empty street. “I see. Meet me at the intersection of Andromeda Boulevard and Sirius Street.”

J was silent for a solid five seconds before responding.

“Thank you.”

“You’re wel-”

“Navigation says I’m nearby. Hold position.”

Nova stood on the corner and checked down each road for any sign of J, only to find nothing. 

Well, not until a motorcycle flew through the intersection and onto the sidewalk, forcing Nova to throw himself out of the way.

He barely even realized he was on the ground until he felt the rocks in his palms and knees.

Nova took a moment to catch his breath and gather his thoughts before getting back to his feet and turning to the deranged driver, only to see J sitting on top of the motorcycle, with his phone in his hand and held to his monitor. A wire ran from his monitor to a small display of a GPS on the body of the motorcycle, right between the bars.

“I believe I’m here. Can you see me? Where are you?” both J and Nova’s now halfway shattered phone asked.

He ended the call and pocketed his phone before approaching J. “I can see you perfectly. I'm standing a few paces from where you nearly ran me over.”

J’s monitor turned to Nova as he tucked his phone away. “Ah. Perfect.” He motioned to the back seat on the motorcycle. “Thank you for waiting. Now, hop on. We need to get-”

“I’m sorry, aren’t you legally blind?”

Nova folded his arms over his chest as J went completely still.

“Perhaps.”

“Perhaps?”

J groaned, leaning forward and draping himself over the handles. “Okay, affirmative. However, my radar works well enough that I don’t _need_ regular eyesight to drive-” 

“I was forced to fling myself into traffic because you didn’t see me!”

“Okay, I’m sorry about that,” he grumbled, “normally, that wouldn’t happen. I promise. I'm just... Frazzled, right now." J straightened back up and gripped the handles. "Anyways, would you get on? We’re wasting time!”

Nova sighed and approached the bike, giving it a quick once over. The bike was white with gold accents, and despite the driving habits Nova had observed thus far, it was in pristine condition. It showed no indication of even a slight graze, much less a crash.

“We’d better not crash.”

“We won’t. Get on.”

“Fine,” Nova said, hopping on and settling into the all-too-tiny backseat before grabbing J’s shoulders.

J tensed up the moment Nova made contact. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Holding on? So that I don’t fall off of this contraption and die?”

“So you grabbed my shoulders. When I’m going to be driving the motorcycle.”

“Yes?”

J let out what sounded like an attempt at a laugh. It was far too strained. “That’s a good way to kill us both!” he said, leaning forward and settling back into his seat. “Grab my waist, it’s safer.”

“Are you sure-”

“Would I have said ‘grab my waist’ if I wanted you to flail your arms around? It’s standard protocol for a passenger. ”

Nova didn’t bother arguing, instead wrapping his hands around J’s waist.

God, he was tiny.

“Hold on!”

Nova took heed to J’s instruction and tightened his grip just as J revved the engine and took off down the road.

“So!” J shouted over the engine, “While I drive, I need you to keep an eye out for my boys on the sidewalks. I also need you to provide directions to any place that would attract teens.”

“Okay, well, we could start off by searching Gibbous Road,” Nova said. “You know, I actually approved multiple new attractions for teens recently, such as laser tag and-”

“Directions. I asked for directions.”

“Well, first you’ll need to take a left.”

J’s tires screeched as he swerved left, completely ignoring the stop sign at the intersection. They were lucky there were no vehicles around to crash into.

“Oh, also, let me know if you see the police!”

Nova held on tighter at that. “Excuse me?!”

“Intersection approaching! Which way?”

“Take a right, and this time, don’t attempt to fling me off the motorcycle!”

J leaned into the handles of the motorcycle as the motorcycle accelerated. “Can’t promise you that, Soldier!”

* * *

They fell into a routine. Nova would call out the next turn and keep an eye on any pedestrian that came into view, and J would completely disregard all traffic laws until someone else showed up on the road.

“I’m not seeing anything so far in the way of neon colored androids so far,” Nova grumbled, attempting to study the face of a pedestrian. “Which ones did you say we’re searching for, again?”

“Haym and Purl-Hew,” J said, driving straight through a stop light at an empty intersection.

“Ah.” Nova turned to get a look at the other side of the road.

Nothing. 

Nova glanced back to J. “Ehm, which ones are-”

“Haym’s yellow and Purl-Hew’s blue. Look for tall hair and shades.”

Nova nodded, glancing at the street sign. “You’ll need to take a right up here, and for heaven’s sake, slow down. You may run over a teenager.”

J didn’t answer, though he did slow down as they turned onto Gibbous Road.

Gibbous Road was quite lively for the time of night, with teens running up and down the sidewalk. The street lamps cast a hazy glow upon the bustling sidewalks and art installments. The glowing signs of different teen hot spots flickered as they drove down the road. Occasionally a few of the pedestrians would get a glance at them and begin taking pictures and chattering within their groups.

Nova tapped J on the shoulder. “Perhaps we should stop and search the area. There’s too many pedestrians around for me to get a halway decent look at any of them while we’re moving. There are also footpaths we should consider investigating.”

J wasted no time in driving to the curb, flawlessly parallel parking the motorcycle. He yanked the keys out of the ignition and hopped off, the pinging of his radar picking up in pace. “Let’s be quick about this.”

Nova dismounted the motorcycle and stretched his legs before setting off. He had been walking for around twenty seconds before he lowered his voice to keep the conversation from the prying ears of adolescents. “Where do you think we should begin our search?”

No reply.

Nova turned to J, only to find him completely absent. A glance back to the motorcycle revealed J, standing completely frozen as his radar pinged rapidly.

Nova folded his arms and called back to J, “Are you planning on accompanying me?”

J’s monitor snapped in Nova’s direction, but his feet stayed stuck in their positions. “I don’t know where the hell you went.”

Nova sighed and made his way back to J, ignoring the looks he got from all of the teens around. “I thought you could make out one’s position on your radar?”

“Too many people around. It makes it difficult to navigate.”

Nova nodded, tapping J on the shoulder when he got near. “Stay close, then.”

“Will do.”

Nova set off once more, and J kept a pace that kept them shoulder to shoulder.

“Anyways, as I was asking earlier,” Nova said, starting down the street again, “shall we start with the main road while it's still busy, or would you rather begin with the footpaths and come back here when things have calmed down somewhat?”

J’s fingers twitched. “Let’s start with the footpaths.”

“I see. Follow me.”

No words were exchanged until they merged onto the footpath, leading behind the main road. Murals were painted on the backs of most of the buildings, and benches had been strategically placed to offer the best possible view of the city skyline.

By no means was there an absence of teenagers here, but their numbers had certainly thinned out along the footpath, with only the occasional gaggle loitering about. Upon slight inspection, none of the groups nearby harbored any androids.

“So,” Nova muttered, stepping over a large crack in the pavement of the path, “I’ve been wondering, how in the world did you know that your androids were in my District, of all places? Wouldn’t it have been easier for them to run off to Natura or Dream Fever?”

“I would have thought that too,” J said, “but Eloni told me they were here.”

Nova stared at J and waited.

“Green.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Anyways, I've got no clue as to why they came all the way out here. The only information I have is that, according to Eloni, they’ve been talking about this little trip of theirs for a few days.”

Nova tilted his head. “That implies that he knew about this beforehand.”

J’s shoulders tensed as he nodded. “Affirmative. In addition to this, he watched me scour the entire house before he bothered to tell me what happened.”

“That’s quite rude.”

J bristled. “It was dangerous. I wasted time in the mansion that could have been spent looking for them.”

Nova glanced at a group of teens huddled together by a bench. No silver or neon colors.

“Why would he wait so long to tell you?”

“I think he was trying to cover for them. Considering the current situation with NSR, my boys probably went stir crazy, being stuck in the mansion and having their concerts and interviews postponed. Constant movement is all they’ve ever known.” For just a moment, his radar flickered and shifted before returning to normal. “In hindsight, I should’ve seen something like this coming, but I was too busy working on Rin to notice.”

“Speaking of which, have you gotten your andr- Rin." Nova shook his head to himself before he spoke again. "Have you gotten Rin back online yet?”

“I finally got him reassembled today, and I was planning on bringing him back online tonight, but then all of this happened,” J muttered. “I was planning on gathering the rest of the boys together so they’d be there when he woke up, but that obviously didn’t happen.”

Nova didn’t respond. There was nothing for him to say that would help.

So they stayed silent.

Eventually, the footpath turned at a sharp angle and led them between a few buildings, giving Nova a new view. A distance away, two teens took pictures in front of some sort of mural, seemingly of the solar system.

Both teens wore dark hoodies, covering their hair, and one had a dark canvas backpack slung over their shoulder. The one with the backpack was taking pictures of the other, who posed in front of the mural. After about half a minute, the teen with the backpack ran up to the mural, turning to show the other one the photos. He tilted his head just enough for his hood to shift.

Bright blue ran along the entire side of his face. He lacked his shades, but it was unmistakable.

Nova had found one of the androids, meaning that the other couldn’t be too far away.

Nova nudged J. “I see one of your boys. Straight ahead,” he whispered.

J stood tall, turning to the teens as his radar pinged.

The blue one - his name was Purl-Hew, wasn’t it? - looked directly at them at the sound. His companion turned as well, following Purl-Hew’s gaze.

“Oh, crap!”

The one who shouted revealed himself to be the yellow one, Haym. He didn’t even pause before taking off in the opposite direction, leaving Purl-Hew in the dust.

Nova paused to process the situation, and in that moment, J shot after his androids, leaving Nova alone on the footpath.

“Troops! _Attention_!”

Purl-Hew immediately stood straight and saluted, while Haym crashed to the ground not too far away in a salute as well. His hood fell off of his head, revealing his neon hair to be down and tied back into a ponytail.

J marched toward Purl-Hew. His footsteps far too heavy as he approached, his hands were curled into tight fists, and his shoulders shook with each step forward.

When J finally closed the gap between himself and Purl-Hew, he stood completely still.

The silence was deafening.

Purl-Hew shifted his weight, breaking the salute to look to the ground. “Uh… Hey, Dad.”

J pulled his android into a hug.

Purl-Hew stood still for a solid five seconds, his eyes flicking about in confusion before he finally reciprocated, patting his father on the back. They stood for a full minute in silence before J pulled away, holding Purl-Hew by the shoulders with shaking hands.

“Stay put while I grab your brother.”

Purl-Hew slowly nodded. “I… Yeah.”

J nodded as well, patting Purl-Hew on the shoulder before letting go and marching over to Haym. His stance was visibly unsteady as he helped Haym up from the ground and pulled him into a hug. From the glance Nova got at his monitor, the display was an absolute wreck, with the usual radar completely distorted and flickering.

Purl-Hew shook his limbs, blinking rapidly before glancing up and locking his eyes onto Nova, who was becoming acutely aware of how much he didn’t belong here, just… Watching.

Purl-Hew pointed at Nova. “Hey, Mr. DJ, come here.”

“What is it?”

Purl-Hew shrugged off his backpack and dug around in it before producing a pair of signature, handcrafted, and extremely expensive headphones belonging to the DJ. “I think these are yours.”

Nova wasted no time in rushing forward, snatching his headphones away and placing them around his neck, where they belonged. “How on earth did you get a hold of these?”

Purl-Hew shrugged and pointed to Haym, who was still trapped in a hug. “Haym stole them back when you visited. He was planning on ransoming them back to you.”

Of course it would be one of J’s androids behind the disappearance of one of Nova’s most prized possessions. Who else would it have been?

“So your brother stole my headphones to use them for profit, and you’re returning them to me.”

Purl-Hew dug around in his hoodie’s pocket, producing a pair of shades and slipping them on. “Yeah.”

“Why?”

Purl-Hew looked up, but it was impossible to get a read on his expression with his eyes covered up. “Whatcha mean?”

“Up until this point, only the green one - excuse me, Eloni - has been even somewhat decent to me. The rest of you made it a point to waste my time. Why would you simply return my headphones out of the goodness of your little wired heart?”

Purl-Hew shrugged. “Dude, why wouldn’t I?”

Before Nova could question Purl-Hew further, J approached with Haym in tow. The display on his monitor was still partially distorted and his shoulders slumped just a little further forward than usual.

“Nova. Would you lead us back to the main road?”

Nova glanced at Purl-Hew one last time before looking ahead and nodding, setting off down the footpath once more. “This way.”

J folded his hands behind his back and followed closely. Meanwhile, Haym threw his hood back on before glancing at Nova and furrowing his brow at him. He jabbed Purl-Hew in the back, who only offered a shrug in reply.

Nobody spoke as they stepped back onto Gibbous Road and made their way back to J’s motorcycle.

“Nova.”

Nova looked to J. “Yes?”

“Without your help, I would’ve been searching for Haym and Purl-Hew all night,” J said, “I provided you with a criminally short notice while you were trying to prepare for your concert tomorrow, yet you still helped me find my boys. I really cannot thank you enough.”

“Ah, ehm, yes. Of course. You’re welcome,” Nova muttered, adjusting his headphones. 

“Do you have a way to get back home?”

Nova shook his head. “Tatiana decided that for now I only need limousine drivers to get to and from concerts, so no.”

J nodded, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out his keyring and fiddling with it. “Thought so. She told me the same thing,” he stated, eventually pulling one key off the ring. “Do you know how to drive a motorcycle?”

Nova didn’t like where this was going.

“I do not.”

“Well, it’s easy. Imagine riding a bike, except you don’t have to pedal and you use one of the handles to accelerate,” J said. “I can’t safely fit both Haym and Purl-Hew on the motorcycle, so we’ll have to take public transport.”

Both androids groaned in an autotuned harmony. It somehow managed to be both impressive and positively exhausting to listen to.

J ignored the androids' whining as he continued, “So please, feel free to use my motorcycle to get home. I can come by and pick it up some other time.”

“...Are you sure?”

“This is the least I can do after keeping you out this late.” J held out the key. “The motorcycle will get you home far faster than any bus can, and I’m sure you’ll need rest for your concert.”

Nova stood still, staring at the key for a solid five seconds before gingerly taking it. “Thank you.”

J nodded, grabbing his phone and wire from his pocket and connecting both to his monitor. “Don’t mention it. Have a safe drive,” he said. He turned to his androids as he tapped something into his phone before muttering, “Let’s be off.”

Nova watched as J headed off down the sidewalk with both of his androids close behind. Haym glared at the ground while Purl-Hew offered a wave to the DJ before turning around and following his dad.

It was actually relieving, knowing that the androids were back in safe hands.

What was not relieving was turning to the motorcycle and seeing just how many pieces and parts there were, leading Nova to realize that J was either a liar or a complete imbecile.

 _Nothing_ about this was going to be easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One time I saw fanart of Neon J on a motorcycle and like.... I HAD to incorporate it. If I can find the post, I'll add a link to it here in the notes!
> 
> Also, I know this chapter isn't as goofy as the first one, but this one's kind of an anomaly for the story as it serves as an inciting incident for LOTS of stuff. We'll be back on track for fluff and shenanigans real soon!


	3. A Waste of Time

Despite his best efforts the night before to cover his windows, sunlight managed to break through the curtains of Nova’s living room, illuminating everything with a soft golden glow. The sun revealed dust particles dancing in the air while Nova's polished coffee table shone bright. Small figurines of different planets and stars reflected rays of light directly into Nova’s face, snapping him out of his barely-awake daze.

It was the morning after Nova’s first concert in weeks, and he had never felt worse.

After Nova’s little _adventure_ with J, he never actually managed to figure out the motorcycle, meaning he got to walk it all the way to a parking garage before he could go home and sleep. He discovered the next morning he that he managed to lose his groceries at some point, but by then he was already too busy setting up for the concert to go shopping again, so he got to starve.

After that, the concert that Nova had spent hours of his time preparing for and stressing over hadn’t even gone outstandingly well. Sure, the crowd was fine, and nothing went _wrong_ , exactly, it was just that the concert ended up being… Frustrating.

He’d tried to get by on mostly old tracks, but the audience needed something fresh after his time away. He played the track he finished only days ago, thinking that throwing a lesser song into the mix would elevate his better works by comparison. Knowing the general public, they’d still enjoy the song, but it most certainly wouldn’t be the highlight of the night.

Oh, how Nova was wrong.

The audience _adored_ it.

Normally, Nova wouldn’t be bothered by this, because normally his songs were beyond deserving of the praise they received. This song, however, barely passed as a finished product. It was nothing more than a confused jumble of notes and sounds with a half-baked idea behind it. He never even bothered titling the track, because he hadn’t expected anyone to ask for its name.

And people were saying it was one of his best works yet.

The notion made his skin crawl.

Nova set his coffee mug down, next to the blueprints of his latest satellite design. The satellite that would project his life’s work - well, his _good_ work - across the galaxy. This satellite would keep DJ Subatomic Supernova alive for many lifetimes after his own passed. This satellite would be the one.

Well, as soon as Nova actually figured out how to improve upon the design. 

After the complete and utter failure of his last satellite, he would need a solid case behind why he should be allowed to send up another one, and a solid case began with a solid design.

He grabbed his pencil and made an attempt to get to work, but despite his best efforts to focus, everything was blurry and muddled. His fingers were still somewhat numb after just waking up, and his vision faded in and out of focus at irregular intervals. His music from the night before rattled around in his head, as if to taunt him.

Wait a moment.

A glance at his ringing phone on the coffee table revealed that the noise wasn’t just in his head. With a groan, Nova grabbed the phone, his vision coming into focus once more as he held it close. 

J’s contact was displayed on his screen for the second time this week.

For the second time this week, J wanted to interrupt Nova’s time. Didn’t J know he was busy? Nova was the charter of an entire District, for heaven’s sake. He had better things to do than chatter on the phone.

However, a quick phone call was far more appealing than staring at his satellite design for hours on end.

He answered the call.

“Yes?”

“Hello!” J replied, far too lively for such an early hour. “I wanted to know if today would be a good day for me to stop by and pick up my motorcycle.”

Nova shrugged, taking to his feet and shuffling toward his window. It was probably time he began properly waking up anyways. “I suppose so,” he grumbled, throwing the curtains open. “I can send you the directions to the parking garage.” The sun sat far too high and bright in the sky. Wasn’t it eight just a few minutes ago?

“Thank you,” J said. Some shuffling became audible in the background before J spoke once more. “I have a question though, how will I go about finding the motorcycle once I get to the garage?”

Nova froze, taking a moment to process J’s words. He barely remembered where he’d parked the thing in that maze of a building, meaning there was no way J would be able to easily find it, especially without conventional vision. “So, scrap that. I’ll actually send you the directions and information to get to my penthouse, then we can go and collect your motorcycle.”

“Good plan! I’ll be there A.S.A.P.”

J hung up.

Nova wasted no time in texting J the directions to his penthouse. As he put his phone back into his pocket, he was left to stare out his window.

He should have been working today. On his music, his satellite, his District, anything.

This little chore was a meaningless time waster. Nova wouldn’t be remembered for lifetimes because of an errand he ran, he would be remembered for his creations and achievements, which he should have currently been working on. All the time Nova was about to spend helping J should have been time going towards something important.

And yet, today’s errand didn’t feel unimportant to Nova.

Nova actually found himself somewhat excited to get out of his home and talk to someone, even if it was a waste of time in the long run. For something so trivial, Nova hadn’t felt as though a task was _this_ important in a long while.

* * *

An hour later, Nova had barely managed to chug a few cups of coffee and properly wake up by the time there was a knock at the door. He snatched his phone off of his kitchen counter and hurried over to the door, throwing on his jacket just before opening it.

J stood with his phone in one hand and the other folded behind his back. For a brief moment, he stood silent before a ping emitted from his radar.

He hopped to attention and saluted to Nova. “Hello again!”

Nova nodded back, stepping into the hallway. “Good morning,” he said, grabbing his keys.

“Actually, it’s thirteen hundred hours,” J said, moving out of the way for Nova, ”it’s afternoon.”

Nova tilted his head as he locked the door behind him. “When did it become afternoon?” he asked, setting off for the elevator. J followed as Nova pushed the button.

J only offered Nova an exaggerated shrug. “I’d estimate around an hour ago, right after noon was over.”

If Nova had eyes, he’d roll them.

“Very funny. Hilarious, even.”

“Thanks, I try.”

The elevator announced its arrival with a soft ding, the doors opening just a moment later. Nova and J made their way inside, with Nova tapping a button before standing back.

“So,” J said, leaning against the wall of the elevator, “how’d your concert go last night? Anything interesting happen?”

Nova shrugged, watching the doors close. “It was fine.” He said. “I debuted a new song, but aside from that, there weren’t many stand out moments.”

J nodded. “Well, at the very least, an uneventful night is a safe one.”

“...Sure.”

What on earth was that supposed to mean?

The doors opened at the ground floor before Nova could think about it too much. Nova stepped out and J followed him through the lobby of his building. The carpet was a pristine white, and the room was decorated with pictures and figurines sporting deep blues and golds.

“So, how are your androids?” Nova asked, holding the door open for J. Outside, the silver skyscrapers of Cast Tech glittered in the sunlight. “I’m surprised you left them all alone after their last stunt.”

J clasped his hands together as he walked onto the sidewalk. “About that! I updated the security system and locked the boys out of it, so I won’t need to worry about a repeat of the other night.” He paused, his radar pinging a few times in quick succession as a car passed by on the road, speaking again the moment the car fell out of earshot. “Also, Rin’s finally back online. He’s good at keeping his brothers from the burning mansion down, not that that should become an issue; Haym’s been too busy sulking in his room to try anything.”

Nova stepped outside and took the lead once more, strolling down the sidewalk with J close behind. “And how about Purl-Hew? How’s he been?”

J nearly tripped over his own feet before quickly righting himself, his monitor pointing directly at Nova. “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

“Purl-Hew, the blue one. Is he faring well?”

“Yes, I know which one of my sons Purl-Hew is,” J said, placing his hands on his hips as he walked. “Sorry, it's just odd that you managed to remember.”

Nova pushed the button for the crosswalk light and folded his arms. “And why is that?” he asked, indignant. Of course he wouldn’t forget the only android decent enough to return his headphones. 

“Oh, calm down. People just tend to get Purl-Hew’s name wrong. I guess it happens so often that it’s strange to hear someone get it right,” J said with a shrug. “Back to your question though, Purl-Hew’s fine. He’s slightly less pissed off at me than Haym is, but he’s by no means ecstatic that we cut his field trip short.” 

Nova nodded, moving forward again when the crosswalk light signaled it was safe to cross. “That’s not surprising, I suppose.”

“No, but you know what is?” J asked, his radar pinging the entire time he crossed the road. “I found out on the walk home that apparently, that whole scheme was Purl-Hew’s. While I was busy with Rin, he took interest in music to entertain himself. He told me he was planning on sneaking into your concert so he could take note of some of the techniques you employ in your music and, as he said, ‘make some tunes with that or something’.”

That _was_ surprising.

Nova stepped onto the sidewalk again and tilted his head. “I don’t understand how he’s just now taken an interest in music. Hasn’t 1010 been producing music under NSR for years at this point?”

“Do you really think five teenage boys are capable of writing a song without trying to kill each other?” J asked, hopping onto the sidewalk. The time between each ping of his radar slowed down to its regular pace once more. “All my boys have to do is learn their choreography and harmonies. I coordinate everything else. Purl-Hew’s become interested in composing, which is completely separate from what he already does.”

“So then, why would he run off instead of waiting to ask you for advice?”

“He prefers music from your genre,” J said, staring straight ahead as he walked. “Plus, he doesn't want my help. He absolutely refuses to believe that I could teach him anything about music he doesn’t already know, with his whole two weeks of experience.”

“Ah. That sounds exhausting,” Nova muttered, picking up the pace as the parking garage finally came into view. “Especially since refusing a proper education at this stage may hinder him in the long run. At best, it will simply take him longer to learn the fundamentals, and at worst, he could learn them incorrectly and build his entire style upon that.”

“That’s exactly what I tried telling him, but what do I know?” J asked, pointing to himself. “I’ve only been working in the music industry for years, but apparently that’s nothing compared to what Purl-Hew's taught himself over the course of half a month.”

Nova scoffed. “I mean, if he’s supposedly surpassed you after two weeks of research, then it sounds like you may have a prodigy for a son. Perhaps you should ask him for lessons since he’s so knowledgeable.”

J let out a laugh. “Maybe I will!” he announced as they finally entered the parking garage. Immediately, the air was cooler and it was apparent that the structure was packed with vehicles. As they walked inside, the occasional ping from J would echo throughout the structure.

J suddenly went quiet, standing at attention before picking up the pace so that he was walking directly next to Nova. “I forgot to ask you earlier, how was it getting back home the other night?”

“Ah, yes,” Nova said, turning down a lane of vehicles. “The motorcycle.”

Just remembering the night made his bones ache from exhaustion.

J narrowly avoided running into a cement pillar, speeding up and turning around so that he could walk backwards. “It’s really something else, isn’t it?!”

“I wouldn’t know. I never figured the thing out,” Nova said with a shrug.

J stopped completely, tilting his monitor. “Wait, how’d you get it here if you never figured it out?”

“I walked it through Cast Tech.”

J was frozen for a solid three seconds before dropping his monitor into his hands. “Oh my god,” he muttered, “I’m sorry. I should have thought about the fact that-”

Nova cut him off with a wave of a hand. “Don’t worry about it. It was no issue to me.”

What the hell was Nova saying? His shoulders still ached from dragging the motorcycle through Cast Tech, he barely got any sleep the night before his concert because he was busy attempting to locate a parking spot for that hunk of metal, and then, to top it all off, he had to pay out of pocket to pay for the parking garage fees.

And yet, what else would he have done? Left J’s motorcycle out in the open on Gibbous Road where it could be towed or damaged? It's not like J had just left the bike because he felt like it, he had been under extenuating circumstances.

J lifted his head out of his hands, his shoulders slightly hunched as he stared at Nova. “Are you sure?”

“It really was fine,” Nova said, beginning to walk again.

He actually believed himself.

Nova turned down a lane of cars, he finally spotted the motorcycle at the far end of the parking garage and sped up. “Your vehicle’s just up here.”

“Already?” J asked, keeping pace with Nova. “It feels like we just left your building.”

Come to think of it, he was right. It felt as though no time at all had passed. 

Nova stopped walking when they reached the motorcycle. “It’s not a very long walk.”

“I see,” J said, walking up to the motorcycle and touching the seat. He ran his hand along the vehicle until he reached the handles before sticking his free hand into his coat pocket and producing his keys. “I’ve gotta thank you again, both for the help and the conversation. It’s nice, getting to talk to another adult every now and then.”

“Of course,” Nova said, shoving his hand into his pockets and grabbing the motorcycle key before holding it out to J. “By the way, here’s your key back. You may want that.”

“Ah! Thank you.” J took the key and slipped it back onto his keyring. He turned to his motorcycle once more. “Now, I’d better get going before Zimelu hacks into security and Purl-Hew tries to run away again.”

Nova doubted J was completely joking about what he said, and he had zero desire to deal with a repeat of the other night, so he stepped away from the motorcycle and waved.

Until he had an idea.

It was an awful idea, logically speaking, but intuition begged to differ.

“Actually, before you leave,” Nova began, taking a step toward the motorcycle, ”you said Purl-Hew won’t listen to a word you say about music, correct?”

J let out a dry laugh. “Affirmative.”

“And you said he’s interested in my genre of music?”

“Yep.”

Nova said, shifting his weight from the balls of his feet to his heels. “Do you think he would accept guidance if it came from someone who works in the genre he’s enthralled with?”

J tilted his monitor. “Probably, knowing him.”

Nova clasped his hands together. “Brilliant. I would like to offer Purl-Hew an apprenticeship in music.”

Nova could barely believe the words coming out of his mouth.

J stood silent, apart from his radar pinging occasionally. He finally twitched, tilting his head. “What?” 

“Think about it,” Nova said, leaning against the wall. “It would be a shame if Purl-Hew’s interest in music stagnated and eventually rotted away due to his refusal of your help, so what if he received outside instruction?”

J placed his hands on his hips and leaned forward, his radar pinging slightly faster than usual. “Didn’t you tell me a week ago that my boys ‘tormented’ you for fun? What’s with the sudden change of heart?”

Nova found himself asking the same question. In the past week, J’s androids had caused Nova more than enough trouble, so why on earth was he actively inviting one of them to his home?

Was it because Purl-Hew had shown Nova an act of kindness by returning his headphones? Perhaps Nova was glad to see someone with a passion for his genre of music? Or could it be that Nova genuinely enjoyed having some company in his day to day life? 

“This would allow him to safely leave the house while focusing on a hobby, thus allowing him to feel less trapped and making escape attempts far less likely.”

_Obviously._

“Ah, of course.” J muttered. He looked to the ground, his radar pinging twice before he straightened back up. “I must say, it’s not a bad idea. It would be really good for Purl-Hew.” J grabbed his keys, hopping onto the motorcycle and starting the engine. “I’ll tell you what, I'll pitch the idea to Purl-Hew when I get home, and I can call you once there’s been a verdict. Does that work?”

“Indeed,” Nova said, stepping back. “Have a safe drive.”

J laughed, revving the engine. “Thanks, I’ll try!” He took off moments later, zipping down the lane lined by cars as he called out to Nova, breaking out into the same sort of melody his androids often would, “I’ll talk to you _later~!_ ”

Nova waved to J as he tore out of the parking garage with screeching tires.

This errand was, without a doubt, a huge waste of time.

So why did Nova feel so content?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really excited to have this chapter done! When I wrote my outline, I knew This Chapter would likely be the hardest for me, simply because I ALWAYS have problems with the third chapter, so yeah. I'm glad to get past the Chapter Three Block, and I'm happy with how the chapter turned out. :)


	4. Old Discoveries

J and Purl-Hew hadn’t even arrived yet, and Nova’s home was already in complete disarray.

Dust hung thick in the air as Nova hurried through his front room, snatching books from their shelves and tossing them into a precarious tower built upon his coffee table. The long shadows of the tower sprawled across Nova’s sofa, which was covered in blank notebooks and pens. Shoved against a wall was a whiteboard, and in the corner of the room stood Nova’s turntables with his laptop resting beside them.

It had been one week since Nova had offered to teach Purl-Hew about music, and his first lesson began in five minutes.

Now, Nova had obviously prepared the lesson in advance, just as any halfway decent ex-professor would. In fact, he’d worked tirelessly over the course of the week to plan out at least two months’ worth of lessons, which should have allowed Nova to finally rest easy today.

But of course, one could never be _too_ prepared.

So just a few minutes before J and Purl-Hew were scheduled to arrive, Nova had scoured his penthouse and gathered every single book he owned regarding anything music.

Just in case.

Just as Nova turned to his bookshelf once more, scanning it for any books he may have missed, there was a knock at the door.

“One moment!” Nova called out, grabbing one more book from the shelf and carefully balancing it at the top of the tower before rushing over into the entryway of his home.

When he opened the door, Nova was met with J and Purl-Hew. J stood at attention with his hands folded behind his back, while Purl-Hew had his hands shoved into his hoodie pockets, his expression nigh unreadable with those infernal shades.

“Good afternoon!” J announced.

Purl-Hew waved. “Hey, Mr. DJ.”

“Ah, yes. Hello, both of you,” Nova stepped away from the doorframe and motioned for them to enter. “I’m glad to see you had a safe drive.”

“Yeah… _Safe._ Totally,” Purl-Hew snickered, leading the way with J close behind.

As Nova shut the door, J stopped in the entryway while Purl-Hew shuffled into the front room with a tilted head.

J within moments, stopped in the entryway and turned to Nova. “Now, before I get all comfy, I can’t actually stay long,” he said, “I have a few errands to run while I’m in Cast Tech. I hope you don’t mind.”

Nova tilted his head, ignoring the pang of disappointment in his chest. “Oh?”

“We need a new sofa after Zimelu and Haym set the old one on fire,” Purl-Hew said, studying the tower of books.

“Indeed, that’s one objective of the day.” J’s radar pinged once before he began speaking again. “Anyway, before I go, I need to talk to you about security.”

Nova nodded, leaning back against his wall. “Go ahead.”

J clasped his hands together. “So, I have no reason to believe that we were followed here, but I’m still going to give you protocol to follow while Purl-Hew is visiting-”

Purl-Hew groaned, flopping onto the couch. “Dad, I’m not gonna try to run away again, I promise!” He whined, rolling over with a crinkle as he crushed the notebooks Nova had left on the couch.

J looked to Purl-Hew, placing his hands on his hips. “I know, that’s not what I’m worried about,” J sighed, turning back to Nova. “This protocol in case someone has tracked down Purl-Hew’s whereabouts.”

“Is that a common occurrence?” Nova asked, crossing his arms.

Purl-Hew sat up in a flash, leaning over the edge of the couch. “Oh yeah, for all of us. There was the time Eloni lost his hair ring right after one of our shows, a fan snatched my entire arm while we were on our way to an interview, and there was that one time Zimelu almost got straight up stolen while we were getting into the limo to go to a signing event...”

J crossed his arms as his shoulders curled inward. “Suffice to say, it’s happened before.”

Nova nodded slowly. “I see.”

“Anyways, the protocol!” J said, standing up straight once more. “Not that I think you will, but don’t take Purl-Hew to any location outside of this building without asking me first. Keep the door locked and don’t open it for _anyone_ while Purl-Hew is here. I’ll call you when I’m here to pick him up, and I _will not_ knock without calling first. As you already know, I won’t text you if something’s urgent, meaning I won’t text you asking for any information regarding Purl-Hew or where you live. If you get a text that seems suspicious, call me and ask for further information. If you call multiple times and I don’t answer, assume the worst and-”

“J, I understand that you're concerned for Purl-Hew’s safety, but I do know better than to take him across town or trust random text messages from your phone,” Nova said. “I have no plans on letting strangers into my home and I’ll make sure you call before I open the door for any reason. Is there anything else I need to know that may actually come up?”

J straightened his back and paused. He took a deep breath and flexed his fingers before he responded. “I hope Purl-Hew’s lesson goes well. I will be back at eighteen hundred hours," he muttered.

“Noted, I’ll see you at six,” Nova said, holding the door open for J. “Good luck with your errands.”

J let out a dry chuckle, walking out the door. “Thank you. I’ll see you soon.”

Nova waved to J before shutting the door and locking it before he turned around, only to find Purl-Hew suddenly standing next to him and staring.

Purl-Hew took off his shades and blinked, tilting his head at Nova. “Huh. I didn’t realize you guys were actually, like, friends,” he said, fidgeting with the shades. “I guess I owe Eloni a pair of sunglasses now.”

“Excuse me?” Nova questioned, walking back to the front room.

Purl-Hew shrugged, following Nova. “Sorry, it's just that you and dad used to barely even look at each other at the old NSR meetings, and now you’re suddenly chatting with each other. Also, a few weeks ago you didn’t know my name and didn't want to know it, and now you’re handing out free music lessons,” he said, moving away from Nova as something seemed to catch his eye. “I guess the sudden change of heart is just kinda weird, you know?”

“I don’t see how it’s _that_ peculiar,” Nova stated, grabbing the whiteboard and wheeling it into the front room. “People change their minds all the time.”

“Yeah, I guess you’ve got a point,” Purl-Hew muttered. He stopped at the window, sitting down cross-legged in front of it, staring out at the city and polishing his sunglasses on his hoodie. “Anyhow, your District’s super chill.”

Nova tilted his head. “Is that supposed to be a positive descriptor?”

“Yeah!” Purl-Hew twisted around to face Nova, grinning. “The space theme and the murals are my favorite parts, and there’s also the fact that you can actually see the night sky out here.” He shuffled close to the glass and pointed at a building. “There’s lots of neat science places to check out, and it’s pretty quiet compared to the Metro Division, which is pretty sweet.” He hopped back to his feet, walking over to the couch. “So overall, you’ve got a good district! I give it a nine out of ten.”

“Only a nine?” Nova asked, grabbing a dry erase marker. “I didn’t spend years constructing this Cast Tech into the marvel it is today for it to be a measly nine out of ten. When I was first appointed as charter, this District was in complete disrepair, but under my guidance I managed to grow it from a garbage heap into-”

“Yeah, yeah, good job,” Purl-Hew said, studying a glass figurine of Jupiter. “Anyways, I’d totally rate it a ten if there were giant aquariums that glow at night. Oh, and sidewalks paved with those glow in the dark stars, for the space vibes. _That_ would make this place perfect.”

Nova stared at Purl-Hew for a solid five seconds before simply shaking his head to himself. “Thank you for your pragmatic, constructive, and not at all absurd feedback. I will certainly think long and hard about your proposals to my District,” he sighed.

“Just lemme know when the city council approves the aquariums, dude,” Purl-Hew chuckled, turning his attention to a figurine of Neptune. After examining the figurine for a few seconds, he grabbed it off the shelf and clutched it close to his chest as he walked back to the sofa.

“Don’t touch that,” Nova groaned, walking over to Purl-Hew. He grabbed the figurine and returned it to its home on the shelf in one swift motion before turning back to Purl-Hew. “In other news, the city council has decided that your ideas are impractical for Cast Tech. Come back when you don’t want to put plastic in the ground.”

“Aww, lame!”

“If you’re so desperate to implement your ideas somewhere, then you should look to your own District.”

Purl-Hew paused, tilting his head and furrowing his brow. He stood still for a few moments before glancing back up at Nova and shrugging. “Nah, I’m not dealing with that mess. Dad’ll freak out about the aquarium being a safety hazard, and Rin would throw a hissy fit over the clashing aesthetic,” he said, making his way over to the turntables. He poked them once before turning to Nova. “Hey, do you think I'll get to try these out today?”

“Doubtful. However, you could get to use them in a few weeks if we actually complete a lesson today.”

Purl-Hew jumped to attention with wide eyes, “Oh, yeah,” he muttered, scrambling over to the couch and grabbing a notebook before sitting down. “Go ahead, Mr. DJ.”

About time.

Nova followed Purl-Hew back to the front room, straightening his back. “First things first, you aren’t required to refer to me as Mr. DJ. Nova is easier as well as preferred.”

Purl-Hew nodded earnestly, grabbing a pen off the floor and scribbling in his notebook. “Got it, Mr. Nova.”

“...Sure.” Nova stopped next to the whiteboard and began marking out a music staff. “Now, we’re going to start with learning to read basic music notes and the like-”

Purl-Hew sat up with a grin. “Oh, hey! I can already read music.”

Nova froze. “What.”

“Yeah, it’s one of the things we were programmed with long before any of us became sentient,” he said, tapping his pen on the notebook. “It’s kind of necessary when you were originally built to sing and you’ve gotta harmonize with four other people.”

And just like that, the majority of Nova’s prepared lessons were rendered obsolete.

“Well then, I suppose it’s your lucky day,” Nova grumbled, pushing the whiteboard back over to the wall. “We may get to work with the turntables today, after I teach you the basics of working with music software.”

Purl-Hew threw the pen and notebook over the back of the couch as he jumped up. “Sweet!”

“You’re going to need those to take notes with,” Nova said, his gaze following the pen and notebook. “Also, I’d like to be able to navigate my home without the risk of twisting my ankle.”

Purl-Hew blinked before going to collect the notebook and pen. “Oh! Yeah, sorry.”

“Thank you,” Nova sighed, grabbing his laptop from his turntables. He took a few notebooks off of the couch before he sat down and typed in his password.

Purl-Hew sat down next to Nova after a few moments, his notebook and pen at the ready as he stared at the screen. “All right, let’s go.”

Nova nodded, opening the program. “First, as I mentioned, you’re going to need to understand the basic functions of this software. You should be expecting a test on this-”

Purl-Hew grimaced, recoiling from Nova as he clutched his notebook close. “A test?”

“Okay, perhaps not a test,” Nova muttered, “but by next week you should be able to show me how to accomplish the most basic of tasks in this software,” he said clicking into another part of the application, “first we’ll start off by creating a new track, like so…”

* * *

Before Nova knew it, nearly two hours had gone by.

"...And that’s where we’ll end our discussion for today,” Nova announced, standing up.

Purl-Hew sat in front of Nova’s laptop, adding notes to the track as he’d been shown earlier. With one hand he used the trackpad of the laptop, and with the other he scribbled down notes without looking at his paper. He paused after a moment, turning to Nova as his track played in the background. “Wait, that’s it? Really?”

“Oh, absolutely not. You still have plenty more to learn,” Nova said, stretching his arms.

Purl-Hew furrowed his brow. “So why are we stopping?”

“It’s almost six, so J will be here to collect you at any minute.” Nova straightened his back and headed for the kitchen. “Now, while you finish up with your notes, I’m going to start a pot of coffee. I’ll be in the kitchen if you have any questions.”

Purl-Hew quickly nodded, looking down at his notebook as Nova left him to write.

Nova found himself in the kitchen moments later, finding it just as pristine as he always left it. He rolled his shoulders as he tapped a button on his espresso maker and collected a mug from the cabinet.

The lesson today had some surprisingly well. Nova was able to jump straight to lesson six of his prepared lessons with ease, and Purl-Hew managed to not go on any more tangents over the course of the evening, instead diligently taking notes and asking good, insightful questions. It was a stark contrast to Nova’s days working at the university. Back then, he would only get a handful of students each semester, none of whom truly cared for space. No, the only people who took Nova’s classes were those who were there to argue or earn one of their credits.

Compared to the simpletons at the university, Purl-Hew was a model student.

Nova set his mug down on the counter as he grabbed a bag of coffee beans and poured them into a grinder, turning it on for a few moments before turning it off and grabbing the device. Just as he made a move to turn back to his espresso maker, he heard a voice just over his shoulder.

“Hey, I was just wondering, isn’t coffee a morning drink?”

Nova yelped, whipping around to find Purl-Hew standing far too close. After taking a deep breath, he walked to his espresso maker and got to work putting everything together. “Coffee is a drink for any time of the day,” he asserted, “only weaklings confine coffee to the morning hours.” He finally started the espresso maker as he set his mug underneath it. “Also, I need to be able to stay awake tonight. I have work to do after this.”

Purl-Hew tilted his head. “What sort of work?”

Nova turned off the espresso maker and grabbed his mug. “I’m currently working to design an improved satellite blueprint, since the last one was so easily demolished.”

“Oh, yeah!” Purl-Hew said, following Nova. "I remember you mentioning how the other one broke, which sucks. It seemed real cool when you were showing it off at that one meeting.”

“That’s because the satellite was a marvel of engineering - well, it was meant to be, anyway,” Nova set his mug down on a windowsill as he stared out at Cast Tech. “Many flaws in the design became apparent after I studied the few remains I could locate, there were multiple weaknesses that should have been caught long before it was ever sent into orbit.” He turned around to Purl-Hew. “In hindsight, what happened was probably for the better, as the elements would have destroyed it within a few years.”

Purl-Hew stood over Nova’s turntables, studying them once more. “So then, why not just replace the satellite every couple of years when it gets old?”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean, it’s usually just easier to replace stuff,” Purl-Hew shrugged. “Like, before the factory was destroyed, if I broke my arm I just got a whole new body. It was faster and easier to just replace everything than it was for dad to design bodies that would last forever.”

Nova crossed his arms, leaning against a wall. “Well, first of all, my satellite isn’t something as simple as an arm,” he said, “it’s a work that will hopefully outlive you and I, leaving my mark on the universe for generations to come.”

Purl-Hew frowned. “Even if the satellite outlives you, it’ll break eventually. What’ll happen then?”

“Simple. I’ll leave my blueprints for those who come after us, so that they may repair it.”

“And what about when they spill water all over the blueprints and nobody knows how to fix the satellite anymore?”

“Well, by then, my name will be known across the galaxy for my brilliant work, so the satellite won’t need to be repaired any longer.”

“So what about when the aliens get tired of talking about you because some dude made a cooler satellite that’s the size of Venus? How would you get around that?”

“Well, I suppose I’d…”

Purl-Hew had a point. What would he do, then? His satellite, the last piece of him, would be destroyed by then, and Nova’s name would be completely lost to the cosmos. What _could_ he do at that point?

Before Nova could even begin to answer, his phone began ringing. Checking the caller ID, he saw J’s name and jumped to his feet, answering the call immediately. 

J began speaking the moment the call was accepted. “I’m back. Can you open the door, please?”

“Yes, yes, give me just a moment,” Nova muttered, shaking out his limbs and composing himself before walking to the door and unlocking it. He ended the call just as he opened the door to see J with his phone held close to his monitor.

J pocketed his phone and nodded to Nova. “Long time no see.”

“I thought you couldn’t see,” Nova said, stepping aside.

“You know what I mean,” J scoffed, walking into the penthouse and standing beside Nova. “Anyway! How’d the lesson go?” He asked, clasping his hands together.

“Actually, better than expected,” Nova said, leading J to the front room. “We were able to skip ahead in the lesson plan since Purl-Hew can already read music, so we instead started with the basics of music software and building a track within it.”

J nodded, turning to Purl-Hew. “And did you learn anything?”

Purl-Hew hopped to his feet upon seeing J, scurrying to the couch to collect his notebook. “Yeah, it was pretty cool. I got to make some tunes.”

“Speaking of making music,” Nova said, grabbing his mug of coffee, “I have homework for you, Purl-Hew.”

Immediately, Purl-Hew groaned and face planted onto the couch. J tilted his head as his radar pinged.

Nova sighed, grabbing a spare pen and notebook from the ground. “Oh, don’t be dramatic. It’s fairly simple work.”

“Fine,” Purl-Hew sighed, rolling onto his back. What do I have to do?”

“Your assignment is to create a forty-five to sixty second long track by next week, to familiarize yourself with the music software,” Nova said, writing on the piece of scrap paper. “I won’t be judging the track harshly, as you’re still learning the basics. I also won’t be looking too deep into the style you use, but I would like for you to pick out some sort of inspiration for the song so it has a clear direction.”

Purl-Hew sat up, holding his notebook close to his chest. “Can I make a song about jellyfish?”

Nova held out the paper with the assignment on it to Purl-Hew. “As long as the track has a consistent theme, I don’t care what your muse is.”

Purl-Hew took the paper and shoved it into his hoodie pocket. “Sweet,” he grinned, opening up his notebook and scribbling something down.

“Before we head out, I’ve gotta thank you again,” J said, “it’s difficult for my boys to do anything without the constant risk of being mobbed by fans.” He folded his hand behind his back and saluted Nova with the free one. “So, thank you for providing this safe learning opportunity for Purl-Hew. It means a lot.”

“Oh yeah, thanks Mr. Nova. It was real fun,” Purl-Hew said with a smile, standing up and standing beside J.

“So, I believe it’s safe to assume that I will be seeing you both next week?” Nova asked.

J laughed and began walking to the door with Purl-Hew in tow. “Obviously!” When he reached the door, he brushed his hand across it until he found the handle and opened the door. “Have a good week!” he called over his shoulder, walking out the door.

Purl-Hew waved as well and followed his father, who had already pressed the button on the elevator. “ _Later~!_ ”

Nova nodded and waved. “Have a safe trip home,” he said, closing the door as Purl-Hew and J stepped onto the elevator.

With that, he was left alone in the entryway.

Time to get to work.

...Right after the front room was put back into order.

Nova took a few minutes to tidy up the space, He collected pens and pencils from crevices between the couch cushions, dismantled the book tower, and returned each book to its home on the shelf. He grabbed his mug of coffee from the windowsill before sitting down with his satellite blueprints.

As he attempted to zone in on his work, Nova couldn’t help but notice that the penthouse seemed oddly quiet. Ordinarily, the quiet was welcome, as less noise meant fewer distractions for Nova to endure, but now, Nova’s home felt emptier than it ever had before.

What nonsense.

Nova had lived on his own for almost two decades now, which was exactly how he liked it. In addition, his home was by no means empty. It was well decorated, but spacious, exactly as it was meant to be.

Nova settled into his couch, tapping his pencil against his leg as he stared at his blueprints. 

The blueprints of the satellite that could never truly promise eternal relevancy.

The silence of the penthouse rang in Nova’s head louder than his own concerts.

Nova rose to his feet, setting down his pencil on the coffee table as he walked to his bookshelf and pulled a large binder from it.

Obviously, he needed a break after spending the past month slaving over these blueprints, and what better to work on then his lesson plan? After skipping so far ahead, he would need to fill in the details of later lessons far sooner than he’d expected, so why not do it now?

Nova sat back down and opened the binder, flipping to the last lesson he’d planned out. He grabbed his pencil and shoved his blueprint to the side.

The satellite could wait just a little longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God. This chapter was super fun to write. I took a few days off after writing the last chapter, and when I came back, this one flew by. I LOVE writing the 1010 boys so much they're all so dumb :')


	5. Long Day

“...And that’s why I’m joining the mantis shrimp if they ever decide to revolt against us,” Purl-Hew declared.

Nova tilted his head. “So you’re telling me that you’d abandon the rest of us to fight alongside rainbow arthropods, simply because they possess a powerful melee attack?”

Purl-Hew tilted his head and squinted at the box art of a billion piece jigsaw puzzle that had been placed on the coffee table. “Nah. I’d join them because they look cool.”

After four weeks of music lessons, Nova found himself in a quite comfortable routine. Once a week, J would stop by to drop off Purl-Hew before attending to some errands. Once J had left, Purl-Hew would show off the product of his latest assignment and ramble about the ‘vibes’ of it all, followed by Nova offering feedback, which would begin the lesson.

Today had followed this exact formula, and after two hours, the lesson had drawn to a close right on time, meaning J would arrive at any moment to come collect Purl-Hew.

Nova closed the book he’d brought out for the lesson and placed it on the shelf. “I see,” he said, turning to Purl-Hew, “however, what if we manage to vanquish the mantis shrimp uprising?”

“Well at that point, I’m going down with the cause. I’ve lived for the mantis shrimp, so I die for the mantis shrimp,” Purl-Hew set the box down on the coffee table before standing up and turning his attention to a figurine of Jupiter. “It’s for honor, yaknow?”

“I do not know, but I will pretend I understand.”

As Purl-Hew hummed and ran a finger across the figurine of Jupiter, Nova’s phone began ringing. Be barely had time to register the fact that he was on his feet and walking to the door as he answered the call.

J’s voice immediately crackled through the speaker. “You’ll never guess my current location.”

“I won’t dispute that,” Nova said, already working to unlock the door, “I would like to make an attempt, though.” 

“Go ahead.”

“Something tells me you’re in the coat section of a thrift store.”

When Nova threw the door open, he was met with J standing with his phone to his monitor. “Damn, how’d you figure it out?”

“Just a hunch,” Nova shrugged, stepping aside as J walked into the entryway.

“Sure.”

Purl-Hew looked up from the figurine at the sound of J’s voice, quickly making his way over to Nova’s turntables. “Oh, one second,” he said, collecting the sheets of paper strewn about, “lemme grab my notes and I’ll be ready to go.”

“There’s no rush, the limo’s running late,” J said, leaning against the wall. He glanced at Nova.. “Speaking of which, do you mind if we stick around a little longer while we wait?”

“Of course not,” Nova assured. He grabbed a book from the coffee table and placed it back on his shelf. “Though, I must ask, why wait for a limo if it’s only you and Purl-Hew? I thought you rode the motorcycle out here.”

J tilted his head and turned to Purl-Hew. “Have you not told Nova yet?”

Nova looked to Purl-Hew.

Told him what?

“Oh, yeah!” Purl-Hew gasped, jumping to attention. “I forgot to mention it to you earlier, but tomorrow we’ve got our first concert since the whole battle with those rock kids!” He grinned.

“Ah, congratulations,” Nova said with a nod to Purl-Hew, only to turn to J once more, “however, that doesn’t explain why you require a limo.”

“Whenever a concert is coming up, 1010’s fans get extremely restless,” J said, crossing his arms over his chest. “This is especially true now, since the boys are finally coming back from an extended break. Hell, just last week, I had to chase away fans waiting by my motorcycle.”

Despite all of the stories he’d heard by now, accounts of 1010’s rabid fanbase never failed to disturb Nova.

Nova ignored the worry that quickly took root deep within his chest.

“I’m assuming you two made it out of that safely, since you’re here in front of me?”

“Us, yes. My motorcycle?” J made a so-so motion. “It needed a few minor repairs, but it’s running again.”

As Purl-Hew finally gathered his notes, he stood straight and looked to Nova. “You know, our fans were probably just extra hyped for the concert, which I can’t blame ‘em for. It’s gonna be super cool, after all.”

“Will it, now?” Nova asked, turning back to his bookshelf and scanning the titles on the spines of the books.

“Yeah! We’ve been working on the choreography all month, and Dad wrote us two new songs we’re gonna debut tomorrow. We’re also gonna be performing at this new indoor stage in the Metro Division. The acoustics there are really good and-” Purl-Hew suddenly paused, a grin splitting across his face. “Wait, instead of listening to me talk about it, why don’t you just come to the concert instead?”

Nova froze.

Now, Nova was an _incredibly_ busy man. Purl-Hew wasn’t the only one with a concert coming up, and Nova had already spent more than enough time this week on today’s lesson when he should have been focusing on his music and satellite. Not to mention, the monthly NSR meetings would be back in session soon, so Nova needed to prepare a report of his District for Tatiana on top of all of his usual duties. He had no time for a frivolous concert.

“Well, before I make any sort of promise, I’ll need to check my schedule,” Nova said, “You see, I have work to do, and while I appreciate your invitation, _it_ is on awfully short notice...”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Purl-Hew muttered, his expression falling as he nodded. He held his head high and shuffled over to the couch, grabbing the jigsaw puzzle and placing his notes atop Nova’s laptop. “I getcha. I forgot that you have stuff to do, too,” he said, forcing a smile.

In the silence that followed, only a notification tone from J’s phone was audible, leading to J grabbing his phone and wire from his pockets. “Excuse me for just a moment,” he said, marching into the kitchen with his radar pinging along the way.

Nova nodded to J and busied himself with his bookshelf once more, but even then, he couldn’t even attempt to ignore the bitter taste his own words left him with.

Perhaps Nova didn’t have a surplus of time, but there were certainly benefits to getting out of the penthouse every now and then. Nova had grown tired of the same four walls every day he wasn’t performing, and it wouldn’t be a bad thing to go support his student...

“...Now, I don’t believe I actually have anything set in stone,” Nova muttered hastily, grabbing a book from the shelf and turning around. “I should be able to attend your concert as long as I plan accordingly.”

Purl-Hew’s eyebrows shot up above his shades as his face broke into a real grin once more. “Sweet!” he exclaimed, throwing the puzzle down upon his notes as he flung himself back into the couch cushions.

J walked back into the front room moments later, tilting his head as he placed his phone back into his pocket. “I was only gone for forty-seven seconds. What’d I miss?”

“Mr. Nova’s gonna come to the concert,” Purl-Hew grinned.

“Oh?” J turned to Nova and placed his hands on his hips. “So you managed to find some free time in your busy schedule?”

Nova shrugged. “I suppose.”

J laughed, straightening his back. “Quite lucky,” he said, folding his arms behind his back. “Anyway, Purl-Hew, gather your belongings. The limo’s here.”

“Gotcha,” Purl-Hew said, hopping to his feet.

Before Purl-Hew could grab his notes, Nova set the book he had grabbed onto the pile. “Before you go, one of your assignments is to read chapters five through seven by next week.”

Purl-Hew stared at the book before glancing back up at Nova with a sheepish smile. “So uh… Could I do a music assignment instead?”

“Actually, now that you mention it, I believe you’re at the point where you can handle both a reading assignment and a music assignment.”

Purl-Hew visibly deflated, his shoulders slumping forward. “Do I have to?”

“If you want to improve, then yes.” Nova pointed to the book. “I would like for you to research the elements of style referenced in your reading, and I would like for you to use at least two in a track approximately forty-five seconds long.”

Purl-Hew stared at Nova for a solid ten seconds, his expression completely unreadable behind his shades. He finally turned his head to the book and sighed. “Fine. I’ll work on it, Mr. Nova.”

Nova nodded. “Good.”

“Purl-Hew, let’s not keep the limo waiting,” J said, tapping his foot.

“I’m going, I’m going,” Purl-Hew grumbled, picking up the book so he could take the puzzle box out of the pile he’d built.

Nova tilted his head as he observed. “If you want, you can take the puzzle home.”

Purl-Hew paused. “I can?”

“Why not? It simply collects dust here.”

Purl-Hew set the book back down, simply lifting the entire pile into his arms as he grinned. “Thanks, Mr. Nova,” he said, rushing over to J.

J turned around to the door, his radar pinging as Purl-Hew drew close. He turned his monitor to Nova as he reached for the door handle. “The concert starts at eighteen hundred hours on the dot, and I’ll send you the coordinates. When you arrive, tell security that you know me, and they should alert me that you’re there. Is that clear?”

Nova nodded. “Clear as day.”

“Good,” J nodded. He opened the door and stepped outside. “We’ll see you tomorrow, then!”

Purl-Hew waved as Nova closed the door and turned to his coffee table.

If Nova wanted to stay on track with his work it would be best if he doubled down tonight. He wasted no time in sitting down at the couch and getting comfortable before grabbing for his laptop.

Except, he was met with a handful of nothing.

A quick glance at the coffee table confirmed that Nova’s laptop was absent.

Perhaps he had left it by the turntables?

A look at the turntables disproved this theory.

Nova took to his feet, grabbing one of the couch cushions and checking underneath it.

No laptop.

Nova had used the thing only fifteen minutes ago. Perhaps Nova had just set in in an odd location? This wouldn’t be the first time he’d done so.

Rolling up his sleeves, Nova sighed as he prepared himself to search the entire penthouse.

At this rate, it would be a miracle if Nova got any work done tonight.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, Nova had gotten absolutely nothing done.

What was surprising, however, that Nova's laptop had completely vanished, something he had only realized _after_ he'd turned his entire penthouse upside-down.

After hours of searching, the only logical conclusion Nova could come to about his laptop's whereabouts was that Purl-Hew had accidentally taken Nova’s laptop when he’d grabbed his things. J hadn’t yet responded to the text Nova had sent him about the laptop, so now, with no excuse even if he wanted one, Nova had arrived in the heart of the Metro Division with plenty of time before 1010’s concert began.

Bright multicolored lights bounced off of each building and reflected off of every surface, waves of conversations crashed over any noise too weak to rise to the top, and the air on the packed street buzzed with energy from the sheer amount of people.

Luckily for Nova, he could easily see over the heads of most of the people gathered in the Metro Division, so he could get a glimpse of exactly what all the fuss was over. Not too far away, Nova could make out the giant screens promoting 1010’s concert. People took pictures of every angle of the street, posing to get the screens in view, posing to get a sign shop in view, posing for just about everything.

After shoving past a pack teenagers posing in front of a gift shop, the front entrance of the concert venue finally came into view. Security guards stood by the entrance, checking the tickets of those in line before letting them in. Nova found the back of the line and waited. 

He didn’t keep track of the time that passed as he put his headphones on and drowned out the roar of the crowd.

After an unknown amount of time (at least four songs long) had passed, Nova finally found himself at the front of the line, standing before a sharply dressed woman who somehow managed to tower over him. She took one look at Nova before holding a scanner at the ready, tapping the button on it impatiently. As her mouth began moving, Nova realized that his music was still playing.

After promptly pausing his music, Nova looked to the woman and tilted his head. “Could you repeat that?”

“I’ll be needing your ticket.”

“Oh,” Nova said, straightening his back, “actually, I know Neon J, the manager of 1010.”

The woman stared at him, raising her eyebrow before tapping her scanner once more. “Congratulations. Want a sticker?”

“Aren’t you supposed to let him know that I’ve arrived?”

“He’s busy, and I’m not supposed to leave my post, so... No.” She glanced behind Nova, squinting before placing his hand on her hip. “Anyways, do you have a ticket or not? You’re holding up the line.”

Nova scoffed. “So what if a few people have to wait an extra two minutes? Don’t you know who I am?”

The woman rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I’ve been to Cast Tech,” she grumbled, “still can’t let anyone in through the front entrance without a ticket, especially not after Neon J raised hell over verifying tickets this morning.”

“So then, how do I get a ticket?”

“You can’t. We’re all sold out.” The woman began to shoo Nova away with one hand, pointing her scanner at the line. “Now, move along.”

Nova stood his ground. “Excuse me?!”

The woman stared at him before reaching for the radio on her waist. “Sir, either move along or I’ll have to call the police.”

Nova clenched his hands into fists, took a deep breath, and stomped off without another word.

He couldn’t believe this. He was an NSR megastar, a District charter, the potential future avatar of earth itself, and he was being treated like a commoner.

Absolutely disgraceful.

Nova shoved past the people standing in line, retreating to a bike rack next to the road as he furiously tapped in J’s number and held his phone to his head. At the current rate, J would ignore this too, and Nova would simply be stranded in the Metro Division until another bus stopped by.

J answered just as the call was about to redirect Nova to voicemail. “What- who is this?” he demanded, his words far sharper than Nova had grown accustomed to.

“It’s me,” Nova grumbled.

“Oh!” J exclaimed, his tone immediately returning to normal. “Have you arrived yet? I forgot to let you know, but there’s been a been change in security-”

“Ah, yes. I’ve already interacted with your security staff,” Nova said, making an effort to ignore the strange looks he was getting from the woman as he loitered. “They treated me like a damned peasant.”

“Sorry,” J muttered, “I should have called you about that earlier, but things have been… Well, to put it lightly, we had a few security scares, so I specifically told them to be on high alert.”

“So then, how am I supposed to get in?” Nova huffed.

“Where are you currently?”

“Standing next to a bike rack at the front of the venue.”

“Okay, good. Hold your position- Ah, shit!” Something on J’s end clanged. “I have something to take care of, but I'll be out there as soon as I can. Make sure to yell when you see me.”

“Understood.”

“Good,” J replied, “now, sit tight and stay safe.”

As J hung up Nova sighed, glancing at his smartwatch and turning on his music once more. thirty minutes until the concert began, and Nova was still stuck outside.

Nova got as comfortable as he could leaning against the bike rack. He attempted to turn his music up loud enough to silence the commotion around him to no avail. The security guards kept staring at him when they assumed he wasn’t paying attention, and the people on the street continued to holler and screech over every little thing.

After what were quite possibly the longest few minutes of Nova’s life, he finally spotted J weaving through the crowd, his monitor displaying his rapid checks of his surroundings. Nova wasted no time in standing up straight and calling out, “J!”

J froze for only a split second before hurrying toward Nova. As he approached, it became apparent that something was… Off. The fur on his coat was oddly rustled, and one sleeve seemed quite wrinkled. His stance was stiff and his fingers twitched as he stopped in front of Nova, his radar pinging.

“Nova?”

“That's my name.”

“Good.” J shifted his weight and sighed. “Sorry about the wait. There were a few issues that came up.”

“It seems like it,” Nova muttered, tilting his head. “Are you all right?”

J paused, his monitor tilting toward the ground. “Ah- yes, affirmative. It’s been a busy day,” he said. After only a moment of silence, he turned on his heel and marched right back into the crowd, motioning for Nova to follow. “Anyway, we don’t have time to stand around! Make sure you keep up!”

The crowd of people quickly thinned out as J led Nova away from the entrance and around to the side of the building. J didn’t slow down until he turned the corner leading to the back of the building, where it was oddly barren aside from a small road. He walked close to the wall, running his hand along its brick surface as he tilted his head.

“So, Nova, how have the past 24 hours been for you?”

“Well, it’s certainly been a day,” Nova sighed. “Did you not receive my text?”

“I haven’t had time to check my text messages today,” J said, only to suddenly stop as his hand ran across a door. He shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out a keycard. “What was it about?”

“Well, I lost my laptop,” Nova said, watching J unlock the door with the card. “I texted you because I have reason to believe that Purl-Hew took it home by mistake.”

“Oh.” J threw the door open and stepped inside, and as Nova followed, he was met with a fairly traditional backstage space, with only one person checking some wiring in the corner. “Well, I obviously don’t have your laptop now, but if you want, you can hop in the limo with us after the concert and I’ll have Purl-Hew check the mansion for it,” he said, leading Nova through the backstage.

“That sounds like a decent plan,” Nova said, stepping over a few wires taped to the ground. “Anyway, in other news, where on earth are you taking me?”

“The greenroom,” J said, turning as he came to an open door near the wing of the stage. “Purl-Hew probably wants to say hello, and I need to go check to see if there’s any open seats in the audience for you, so it’s the best place for you to wait.”

“Ah. I suppose that makes sense,” Nova said, raising his voice to speak over the muffled chatter of the audience as tey walked into the greenroom.

In the greenroom, all five of J’s androids stood gathered around one vanity mirror, with Haym sitting down in front of it with his head in his hands and his hair an absolute disaster. The rest of the androids conversed with each other in a hushed tone, shoving one another and attempting to get closer to Haym with various hair styling tools. None took notice of Nova and J, instead snatching things from one another and making wild hand motions.

“Troops! We have a visitor!” J called out, his sentence punctuated by the crash of a hairspray bottle thrown across the room.

Only Purl-Hew turned around, his expression one of pure panic until he spotted Nova. He quickly straightened up, smiling and waving for exactly one second before Rin shoved past him and nearly knocked him to the floor.

“Captain!” Rin barked, stepping forward and saluting J. 

J’s radar pinged once before he sighed. “Yes, Rin?”

“Uh…”

Rin’s eyes flicked back to his brothers. Zimelu held Haym in a headlock as he attempted to brush his hair out, while Haym squirmed at every chance he got, Eloni had run to the other side of the room where the hairspray was thrown, and Purl-Hew blinked rapidly behind his now crooked glasses as he stood up.

“There was an incident involving Haym’s hair, sir.”

J’s monitor snapped in Rin’s direction. “How? I left you alone for ten minutes!”

Haym shot up in his seat, nearly throwing Zimelu off of him. “I was set up!”

Zimelu grabbed Haym’s shoulders and yanked him back into the chair. “You _chose_ to stick your hair into a vent, idiot.”

“Well, Eloni did kinda start that mess,” Purl-Hew pointed out, adjusting his shades.

“I didn’t start anything!” Eloni grabbed the hairspray from behind a small couch pushed against the far wall Before walking back to the vanity. He handed the bottle to Zimelu as he frowned at Purl-Hew. “I just pointed out that the vent was there, and that he could potentially stick his hair through the grate.”

Zimelu rolled his eyes, taking the hairspray and spraying it all over the piece of hair he’d managed to detangle. “Dude, we all know that Haym has zero impulse control-”

“Hey!”

Zimelu flicked Haym in the head before glancing back at Eloni. “You knew full well what was gonna happen.”

Nova glanced to J, who simply took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. He marched to the vanity and held out his hands to Zimelu, who wasted no time in dumping the brush and hairspray into J’s palms.

Nova tilted his head, following behind J who already had his hands in Haym's hair. “Are you not going to call someone to fix Haym's hair for you?"

“There's not enough time for that. Besides, I don't even need to see to know what I'm doing,” J said, yanking a comb out of Haym’s mane. “This is by no means an unusual occurrence.” 

“Well, it kind of is,” Eloni said, “usually Rin’s the one redoing his hair last minute.”

Rin struck a pose as he side-eyed Eloni. “That’s because our fans deserve to see us at our best.”

“Yeah, right,” Zimelu scoffed as he flopped onto the couch in the corner. “We could throw Haym on that stage right now and the fans would still drool over him.”

Haym grinned. “Uh, yeah. That’s because I’m sexy as hell.”

“Language,” J grumbled.

“Right,” Haym said, sitting straight as he placed his hands into his lap. “Sorry, Pops.”

J simply nodded as he worked detangling the parts of Haym's hair that would be visible before brushing them upward, reshaping Haym's hair and spraying it into place. After a copious amount of hairspray, he finally let off before running the comb through Haym’s hair one last time. He placed the comb on the vanity and patted Haym on the shoulder. “You’re free to go. Let your brothers know that it’s about time for places.”

“Gotcha!” Haym grinned, jumping to his feet and running off to join his brothers, who had already begun chattering about something new.

As Haym ran off, J leaned on the back of the chair and sighed, turning to Nova. “Sorry about that,” he sighed, rolling his shoulders before fixing his posture. “It’s been a long day- no, week. Between rehearsals, interviews, and setting up the stage-” Suddenly, J froze. “Ah, fuck.”

“What is it?”

“Nova, is your heart set on watching this concert from the audience?”

Honestly, the idea of potentially being seated next to a pack of squealing teenage girls was enough to give Nova a headache.

“I could take it or leave it. Why?”

“Because the concert’s scheduled to start in three minutes and you’ve got two options.” J held up a finger. “The first is to try to find a seat in the audience right now, three minutes before showtime, or,” he held up a second finger, “you can watch from the wings. I have access to a livestream, so you’d still be able to see the concert from the audience’s perspective, but you’d have to stare at my phone.”

“I take no issue with the second option,” Nova replied with a shrug.

“Okay, good. I’m glad,” J muttered. He grabbed the chair from the vanity and followed his androids as they migrated into the wings.

As they left the greenroom, Nova was shocked to discover that the audience had managed to grow louder during Nova’s time away from the wings. Rin, Eloni, and Zimelu stood in this wing, whispering between themselves. Zimelu had a frown as he leaned against a wall with his arms crossed, while Rin talked at Zimelu with exaggerated hand motions. Eloni stood between the two, his eyes darting to the stage every few seconds as he spoke with far less movement than Rin.

J pushed the chair he’d dragged with him next to a tall and plain looking stool, which he immediately sat atop, pulling his phone and wire from his pocket. He connected the wire to his phone and monitor and began tapping away at his phone screen. “Give me just a moment so I can get the livestream up before things start.”

“Of course,” Nova said with a nod, sitting down in the other chair.

Off to the side, Nova caught some of the mutterings of the androids.

“...That’s a lot of people,” Zimelu murmured.

“Yeah, and they’re all here to see us!” Rin whisper shouted, his smile audible in his words, “I don’t think we’ve ever had a concert this big.”

“It’s crazy,” Eloni replied.

Nova shifted his gaze to the androids just in time to see Zimelu fidgeting as he shifted uncomfortably. “It’s... Yeah. Sure.”

Nova felt a tap on his shoulder before he could eavesdrop further.

“Here,” J said, handing his phone to Nova. The phone was still connected to his monitor by the wire, and the screen had multiple cracks in it, though they thankfully didn’t obscure the view of the stage displayed. “Just so you know, the video may be slightly behind, but hopefully it won’t be too bad.”

At that, the lights on the stage quickly faded to darkness and the audience grew hushed.

J turned to Zimelu, Rin, and Eloni. “Break a leg, boys.”

The three androids glanced at J as the lights shut off completely. Eloni grinned, Zimelu offered a thumbs up, and Rin briefly saluted J before the three silently ran out onto the stage.

Moments later, the lights came back on and Nova turned his attention to the phone.

The boys stood lined up on stage, with Rin standing in the middle.

Rin struck a pose, his brothers all mirroring him after a slight delay.

“Baby, it’s good to be back!”

Nova nearly jumped out of his skin as the crowd burst into fanatic cheering and the music started up.

The boys immediately started off a five-part harmony before breaking into a dance.

After seeing only a few seconds of the performance, Nova couldn’t help but notice was just how different each of the boys acted on stage. Some, like Rin, had subtle changes, such as wearing slight smile on his face at all times, while Purl-Hew and Haym seemed the least familiar. Haym kept his expressions soft and wide eyed compared to his usual maniacal grins, meanwhile Purl-Hew barely emoted in the slightest.

Honestly, it was somewhat unsettling seeing the boys change like that on a dime.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve seen Purl-Hew go so long without grinning over something.”

J swung his legs in time with the beat of the music as he gripped the seat of the stool. “That’s because he only stops smiling when he’s on stage.”

“Why?” Nova asked, tensing up as the audience began screaming because the boys stood close to the edge of the stage.

“Because it’s part of his persona,” J shrugged, “before he gained sentience, he was designed to be aloof and mysterious. It's hard to change that public image now.”

“Odd. One would think that his personality would have grown in line with his original programming.”

“Yeah, you’d think.”

Nova hummed in acknowledgement, staying quiet as he watched the lights shift from the warm colors into a hazy icy blue with white spotlights on the boys as they began dancing. The lights cast long shadows and made the features on the boys seem sharper than ever as a snappier track began to play.

“Now, I must say, the lighting is phenomenal,” Nova pointed out, “it fits the music extremely well and is generally pleasing to the eye.”

J sat upright, his radar pinging. “Oh, thank you. The lights were an especially entertaining challenge to work on.”

“Oh?” Nova glanced between the screen and J as he settled into his chair. “How so?”

“Well, you see, because this stage is relatively new, I had to figure out where the lights would be before I thought about anything else.” J leaned forward, emphasizing his words with his hands as he spoke. “Usually, this is no issue, but the places where you can hang spotlights in this building are in some unusual spots, which both opened up opportunities and…”

* * *

Nova didn’t even realize just how much time had passed until the concert drew to a close.

The past couple of hours had been spent watching the concert from J’s phone, with the occasional ramblings from J about the choreography or lighting. At some point, everything began to blend together in a strangely comforting way, with one song shifting into the next while the audience slowly became white noise.

Nova was only snapped out of the daze he’d found himself in when the androids struck a final pose and the lights faded out. The audience roared as Purl-Hew, Eloni, and Rin entered the wing Nova and J sat in.

Rin rushed over to J, beaming as he saluted in front of him. “Captain!”

J turned to Rin, his radar pinging. “Yes?”

“How was the show?”

“I'd say it was one of your best performances yet,” J said, sitting up straight and saluting Rin back. “You should be proud of yourself, soldier. Now, go tell the others to grab their things from the greenroom and to come back here when they’re done.”

Zimelu and Haym finally entered the wing as Rin nodded and ran back to his brothers. Moments later, the boys were all rushing to the greenroom as they shouted at each other.

J turned to Nova, stretching his arms as he spoke. “Could I have my phone back?”

Nova nodded, handing it over as he stood up. “Of course.”

J pulled the wire from his monitor and pocketed his phone before he stood as well. “Once they’re done in the greenroom, we’ll be out of here. I hope it’s not too long of a wait.”

“It’s actually a rather early departure. Are you not going to wait to collect any equipment you brought out here?”

“Negative,” J said, walking to the back wall behind the stage. “It’s imperative that we leave before most of the audience does.”

“Why’s that?”

“If we wait around, the fans could find our limo and cause issues,” J said, leaning against the back wall.

At that, the boys returned from the greenroom, each with a backpack with a different pattern. They all ran straight to J, except for Purl-Hew, who walked over to Nova.

“Oh, good, you’re still here!” He grinned, pushing his shades onto his forehead. “Thanks for coming! I’m glad you could make it.”

“Thank you, so am I,” Nova admitted, beginning to make his way toward J and the other androids. “You all did an excellent job. The dances were especially well done.”

“Dad choreographs everything, not us,” Purl-Hew chuckled, following Nova as he tilted his head. “He's also the only reason we aren't totally out of sync. At rehearsals, Zimelu-”

“Purl-Hew!” J called out, “we need to get to the limo.”

“Oh, okay!” Purl-Hew waved to Nova as he ran to his brothers. “See ya, Mr. Nova!”

“No, he’s coming back with us,” J said, walking along the back wall and toward the side door.

“Cool!”

None of the other androids seemed to care aside from Rin, who froze entirely as he glanced between Nova and J with pure bewilderment painted across his face. “Why?”

“He lost his laptop, and evidence suggests that Purl-Hew accidentally brought it back yesterday.”

Purl-Hew paused. "Wait, really?"

Rin glanced at Nova, squinting at him before turning his back and pulling Haym to him. 

Purl-Hew turned to Nova with a slight frown. “I promise I didn’t mean to steal your laptop if I did, Mr. Nova.”

Nova nodded. “I would've suspected such."

“Troops, at the ready!” J called out. They’d finally arrived at the door, and he held his hand on the handle. “Prepare to move out in three, two, one…”

Purl-Hew dropped his shades back onto his face as J threw the door open and marched outside with the androids following him in a single file line. Nova took up the rear, stepping outside after Purl-Hew.

Thankfully, no fans were nearby the limo, which already sat running a short distance away. J held the door open as the androids climbed in, his radar pinging constantly as Nova finally stepped inside. J followed moments later, closing the door behind him and running his hand along the door, finding the button to lock the door just as the limo began driving.

Nova yelped, nearly falling over from the sheer force with which the vehicle tore out of the background. In contrast to Nova’s troubles with physics, most of the androids stood completely unfazed. The only outlier was Zimelu, who lay face down on the floor of the limo.

Eloni tilted his head as he sat down and crossed one leg over the other. “Zi, you good?”

“I’m fine.”

Rin glanced away from his hushed conversation with Haym to look at Zimelu. “So, are you gonna get up or..?”

Zimelu rolled onto his back and shrugged. “Nah. Too tired.”

“We’ll be home soon, I promise,” J said, stepping over Zimelu to get to a seat. “But before that, I wanted to congratulate all of you. I don’t think 1010 could have dreamed of a better return after the break.”

Nova finally sat down at the far side of the limo as the androids, minus Zimelu, reacted with beaming smiles and small cheers.

“Do you think Tatiana will add more of our concerts to the schedule?” Rin asked, leaning forward.

“Perhaps,” J hummed, relaxing into his seat.

Zimelu visibly cringed, sitting up with a whirr of his machinery. He stood up moments later and walked across the interior of the limo before sitting across from Nova.

Only Eloni seemed to take notice, glancing at Zimelu with a slight frown before turning to J. “When do you think our schedule will be back to normal?”

J shrugged. “I’ll talk to Tatiana about it at the next meeting.”

“So will we have interviews and stuff in the meantime?” Haym asked.

As the questions continued, Nova pulled out his phone. He checked his messages and replied to an email from Tatiana before noting down a few ideas for songs to create. He checked the bus schedule, and after looking over a few headlines in the news, Nova finally glanced up, only to see Zimelu staring at the ground with a scowl.

Nova turned off his phone and placed it on his lap. “You know, you did a brilliant job at the show tonight.”

Zimelu flinched before glancing up at Nova. He quickly straightened his back and averted eye contact, glancing out the window. “Uh, cool.”

Just then, the limo came to a halt.

The door was opened from the outside just moments later, and Zimelu was the first one to hop to his feet and exit the limo. J exited the vehicle shortly after, and Nova only followed once the rest of the androids had hurried out.

They stood at the front gates of Baracca Mansion, with J already tapping in a code at one of the fence posts. Moments later, there was a clicking noise and J pushed the gates open. The androids hurried past J to the front door before Nova had even stepped past the gates.

“They’re eager to be home, aren’t they?” Nova muttered.

J shrugged, closing the gate behind him with another click before heading toward the front door. “It’s been an _extremely_ long day.”

J pulled a key ring from his pocket as he approached the door, feeling each of the keys before he selected one. The androids moved out of the way as he finally made it to the door and began unlocking it.

“When you get inside, put your things away and then help Purl-Hew find the laptop. Am I clear?”

The androids nodded. “Yes, Sir!”

J took his key out of the lock and opened the door, stepping back as the androids rushed inside, yelling at each other as they sprinted down a corridor.

J closed the door as Nova stepped inside, locking it again as he chuckled. “You’ll have your laptop again in five minutes, tops.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it,” Nova said.

It was silent aside from the occasional ping.

“Would you like to sit down?”

Nova shook his head. “No, I’ve sat more than enough today.”

Glancing down the entryway, Nova neither saw nor heard any sign of the androids still being nearby.

“May I ask you something?”

J nodded. “Go ahead.”

Nova looked over his shoulder one last time. “Is Zimelu always so… Tense?” He asked, lowering his voice.

J froze for a moment. “You’ve noticed?”

“Indeed, I have.”

"Well then, to answer your question, no." J muttered, crossing his arms. “He’s only been like this since a little after I brought him back online. All of my boys have been having a hard time since I brought them back, actually.” His radar pinged a few times as a crash came from upstairs before he continued. “With the factory gone, I can’t risk letting any of them out of this Mansion unless they’re in a highly supervised environment, like interviews or signings. Aside from Purl-Hew, they’ve all been trapped in this Mansion for the past five to seven weeks.”

Nova tilted his head. “Didn’t they do a promotional tour of the Metro Division just before the Plutonian rock band came along? Could they not do something like that to get outside?”

“There were three bodyguards per android at each of the locations they were filmed. NSR can’t spare that kind of manpower outside of concerts at the moment.”

“Is there any place in the Metro Division you can bring them where you don’t need that kind of security?”

“God, I wish.” J laughed dryly. “If I take them anywhere around here, it’s only a matter of time before their fans find their location and broadcast it to the world.”

“I see,” Nova muttered, pausing as an idea came to mind. “What if you took them to a different District?”

J stood at attention. “Go on.”

“Well, a building that comes to mind is Club Planetarium. When it’s not being used as a venue, it doubles as an observatory, one of the best in the world, in fact.” Nova spun his hand in a small circle as he spoke. “It’s a large building with few entrances, and it can be rented out for a time. It could serve as a safe and educational field trip for your androids.”

“It sounds promising,” J muttered, pushing off from the door. “What sorts of lectures do they provide?”

Nova paused. “Well, um, none at the moment.”

“What? Why not?”

“Unfortunately, the observatory part of the building isn’t very popular, so funding was cut. At some point, they simply stopped hiring lecturers since no profit came from anything that wasn’t a concert.”

“But the building can still be used as an observatory, correct?”

“Indeed.”

J nodded, humming to himself for a second before leaning toward Nova. “Say, you know a thing or two about space, don’t you?”

Nova could already see where this was going.

“J, I have a doctorate in astrophysics and was a professor of the subject for years, of course I do.”

“So what you’re saying is that you can talk about stars for hours on end?”

“I can do that, yes.”

J folded his arms behind his back. “And you already live in Cast Tech…”

Nova sighed. “I suppose I could provide your androids with a lecture.”

J gasped, placing a hand to his chest in mock surprise. “Why, what a kind offer! You’ve really got the heart of a volunteer, Nova. I appreciate it.” J laughed, patting Nova on the shoulder. “I’ll pitch the idea to the boys. If they like it, I’ll call you and we can set a date.”

Before Nova could reply, J jumped to attention as the sound of metal on wood drew near.

Moments later, all of the androids - minus Zimelu - rounded the corner, with Eloni at the front of the pack holding Nova’s laptop. All of them yelled at each other as Eloni skidded to a stop in front of Nova, holding out his laptop.

Nova seized his laptop immediately, holding it close as he nodded to the four androids. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Eloni chuckled, stepping back. “You’ll never guess where I found it.”

“Indeed, I won't.”

Rin stepped forward, his hands on his hips. “It was under _one_ book, and Haym and Purl-Hew were too busy checking behind Purl-Hew’s wall of shades to figure it out.”

“Dude, you know I’m allergic to reading,” Haym said, “why would I think to check under the book?”

Rin frowned. “Because it’s one of the few things that didn’t have dust all over it?”

Eloni raised an eyebrow. “If you noticed something as subtle as that, then why didn’t _you_ check under the book?”

As the androids began bickering once more, Purl-Hew stepped forward, running a hand through his hair.

“Hey, sorry about the accidental burglary, Mr. Nova.”

“Don’t worry about it, there was no harm done” Nova said, tucking his laptop under his arm and turning to the door. “Now, I’d best take my leave. I believe all of us could use some rest.”

“Agreed,” J said, turning to the door and unlocking it for the second time tonight.

Nova waved to the androids, with only Purl-Hew waving back as he stepped outside with J.

J closed the door behind him and walked to the gate. “Do you have a ride home?” he asked, once again tapping in a code. “If not, I could get the limo to take you back, or I could just grab my motorcycle.”

“Thank you, but that won’t be necessary.”

“Understood.” J stepped back, opening the gate for Nova. “Then I guess I’ll talk to you soon. Have a safe night.”

“You too.”

Nova didn’t turn back to see if J waved back, instead searching up the nearest bus stop as he walked.

As Nova tapped the button that would offer him directions and held his laptop close, Nova couldn’t help but think about just how much work he could have caught up on these past two evenings. The music he could’ve made, the reports he could have written, the research that Nova so desperately needed for the satellite.

And yet, Nova couldn’t bring himself to care. It’s not as though he’d had a bad time tonight, not at all.

For the first time in ages, Nova had enjoyed himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha long chapter go brrrrr
> 
> Fun fact, I spent 3 days on the first ~1000 words on this chapter, and wrote the rest in some sort of writing trance. I didn't expect this chapter to end up so long when I wrote the outline, but I think the 1010 convos make things WAAAY wordier than usual.
> 
> Speaking of 1010 though, I'm super glad to finally bring Rin into this!! the gangs all here!!!


	6. Does it Matter?

Nova had never seen Club Planetarium so empty.

Now, this shouldn’t have come as a surprise. When he’d called to rent the building out for the night, he had been explicitly warned that the observatory would be closed. If he wished to use the venue, he would need to use the key he’d been given for concerts to enter, and he would be required to set up the equipment inside on his own. He’d been informed multiple times that nobody would be there to greet him, and yet, it was still shocking to find the observatory closed to the public on as clear a night as this one.

Back in his teaching days, Nova could visit the observatory any night of the week so long as it wasn’t raining, and he would be permitted to stay until the sun rose on the horizon. Now, it had been years since those days, and he rarely visited the observatory outside of his concerts anymore, but even then, Nova would have thought that the building was getting some traffic outside of concerts.

Suffice to say, the current state of the venue was nothing short of disheartening.

With a sigh, Nova pulled his keyring from his pocket and began sorting through it, the jingle of the keys providing the only noise on the deserted street.

Just as Nova had isolated the key to Club Planetarium, a bright light reflected off of the frosted glass door and the rumbling of an engine approached from behind.

Nova turned around just in time to see the limo come to a stop next to the sidewalk. The driver didn’t even have time to step out of the vehicle before the back door was thrown open. Haym, whose hair was down and in a ponytail, and Purl-Hew, whose shades fell to the ground, came barreling out, yelling nonsense at each other as they sprinted up the stairs. They only silenced themselves for a moment when they skidded to a stop in front of Nova just as the rest of their family began to file out of the limo.

“So! DJ,” Haym said, tilting his head at an almost unnatural angle, “we’ve got a super crazy important question for ya!”

Nova glanced between the two androids. “What is it?”

Purl-Hew grinned, shoving his hair out of his face “Which planet’s cooler, Neptune or Mars?”

Haym straightened up with a mechanical whirr, placing his hands on his hips. “Like, if you had to keep one while the other evaporates into nothingness, which one are you _not_ gonna doom?”

“Ehm… Well, you see, they’re both fascinating in their own ways, each with their own eccentricities, marvels, and fair share of fun facts,” Nova shook his head to himself. “I don’t think I could bring myself to destroy either one.”

Haym groaned as Purl-Hew chuckled. 

“Yeah, I get that,” Purl-Hew said, “but you’ve _gotta_ explode one. Those are the rules.”

“If you don’t explode one of them, then… Uh...” Haym paused, furrowing his brow.

Zimelu raised an eyebrow as he reached the top of the stairs, glancing between Haym and Purl-Hew. “Is this still about the planets?”

“Yeah,” Purl-Hew chuckled, “right now, Haym’s trying to think of what’ll happen if Mr. Nova doesn’t choose one planet to keep and one to disintegrate.”

“Oh, okay. I gotcha,” Zimelu said, turning to Nova without hesitation, focusing a piercing stare at him. “If you don’t choose a planet to implode, the sun will collapse and turn into a black hole, and then we all die.”

“Ooh, that’s a good one,” Haym said with a cheery grin.

Zimelu nodded. “Thanks, I try.”

Nova shoved his hands into his pockets with a huff. “Well in that case, I’d keep Mars,” he muttered, “simply because it will likely serve as a vital part of our progress toward interplanetary travel.”

Haym snickered at Purl-Hew. “I told you Mars is the superior space rock.”

Purl-Hew crossed his arms and frowned at Haym. “Neptune’s still cooler. He just said he only picked Mars because it’s a glorified landing pad for future spaceships.

As Purl-Hew and Haym began bickering between themselves, J and his last two androids finally came into view as they approached the door. Eloni and Rin hurried over to their brothers while J paused at the top of the stairs, his radar pinging softly.

“J,” Nova said, grabbing his key once more, “it’s good to see you again.”

J’s monitor immediately turned to Nova. “Likewise!” he said, walking forward with a chuckle. “Well, in my case, good to _hear_ you.”

“Oh, of course.” Nova unlocked the door with a click and held it open for J. “Anyway, after you.”

J nodded to Nova. “Thank you,” he said, stepping inside as he called over his shoulder, “troops! We’re heading inside!”

Immediately, all five androids fell silent and hurried after their father, with Nova finally stepping inside after them.

Nova tucked away his keys to the building as he shut the door behind him, the click from the door ringing throughout the building. Inside, the observatory was dark and barren, just as it often was before setting up for a concert. The metal footsteps of J and his androids echoed off of the walls, and the androids’ eyes glowed in the shadows.

“Now,” Nova said, walking along the wall to a large panel, “before you get comfortable, please stand by for just a moment.” Opening the panel revealed a series of buttons, switches, and dials, which Nova began to inspect. “I need to prepare the telescope.”

Zimelu’s crimson eyes turned to Nova. “What telescope?”

“You’ll see in just a moment,” Nova said, tapping a button.

At first, nothing happened aside from a creak.

After a few seconds of complete silence, the androids began muttering among themselves, only for another deafening creak to ring throughout the observatory. With the creak, the ground began to rumble and shake as a section of the floor on the far end of the room slowly began to open up, revealing a large pit beneath it.

The androids’ confusion quickly shifted to awed murmurings as Nova pushed another button, opening a section of the roof above the pit with a screech of metal. As the roof slowly opened up, Nova flipped a switch and turned to watch as the largest - and apparently the most dusty - telescope in Vinyl City slowly rose from the hole in the floor.

“You know,” Eloni muttered, “I think we should get a secret underground telescope for the mansion.”

Rin tilted his head. “Where would we put it?”

Haym snickered. “We could put it in your room.”

“Nah, too easy to find,” Zimelu replied.

Purl-Hew turned to Nova as the rising telescope came to a halt with a clang. “Does that noise mean we can go hang out by the telescope now?”

Nova nodded. “As long as you don’t touch anything, yes. I’ll be there in just a moment to get the telescope into order.”

As the androids rushed toward the telescope and Nova turned back to the control panel, J stood in the corner of Nova’s vision, with his back pressed to the wall and his arms pinned to his sides. His radar pinged incessantly as he took deep, controlled breaths.

“J,” Nova said, turning to him, “how are you doing?”

J’s monitor jerked toward Nova as his fingers twitched. “I’m fine,” he snapped, only to pause a moment later and take a deep breath. “Shit. Sorry.” He brought a hand to his monitor with a sigh. “Whatever just happened felt and sounded like-” He shook his head. “I just wasn’t expecting that.”

Nova’s breath caught in his throat as he recognized his own lack of foresight.

“My apologies. I should have alerted you about the mechanisms of the building,” Nova sputtered out, “it didn’t even occur to me how alarming the noise would be when it isn’t paired with vision. I promise that nothing unsafe was taking place, and that-”

J held up a hand, cutting Nova off. “It’s all right, Nova. It was a simple mistake,” he said. He pushed off from the wall, rolling his shoulders as his radar pinged a few times. “Just tell me if there’s going to be any more earthquakes from hell or if you’re done setting everything up.

“Of course,” Nova muttered, turning back to the control panel and scanning it over. “I’m almost done here, I only need to…” His hand paused, hovering over a small dial. “Actually, would you connect to your phone, please?”

“What for?” J asked, already pulling his phone and wire from his pocket.

“Just trust me.”

J took a moment to connect his monitor to the phone before speaking again. “Okay, done.”

“Perfect. Now go to your camera.”

J tapped his phone, holding it up and angling it at Nova. “What now?”

Nova’s hand hovered over the control panel. “Look up.”

Just as J did so, Nova turned the dial.

The tall ceiling of the observatory quickly illuminated to display a magnified view of the night sky, which purposefully highlighted constellations and stars of interest. The images of stars shed light down upon the room, creating hazy shadows amidst a soft glow. Immediately, all of the androids glanced upward, craning their necks to see the image of the sky. Purl-Hew spun around to get a proper view of the entire thing, while Haym bent so far back he fell over. J stood completely still, his monitor positioned forward as he tightened his grip on his phone, which pointed to the sky.

After approximately ten seconds had passed, J turned his phone to a different angle, pointing it at different parts of the roof as he turned around. His shoulders relaxed as he simply scanned his phone across each area of the image of the sky. After about a minute of this, he pointed his phone directly at Nova and tilted his head.

Nova closed the control panel, avoiding glancing at J’s phone as he hurried over to the telescope. “I thought you may find it interesting.”

J let out a laugh. 

“Well, you were more than correct!” he said, running forward and falling in line with Nova as he spun around with the phone. “Has Club Planetarium been capable of this the entire time?”

“Oh, no,” Nova said with the wave of a hand, “I actually requested the roof some time after I was appointed the charter of Cast Tech. I actually had the idea-”

“Hey, did we come all the way out here so we could stare at a telescope while you two talk?” Zimelu called out. He laid in a pile of blankets and while Eloni dumped multiple pillows from his backpack. Rin, Haym, and Purl-Hew hovered over the telescope, with Rin and Haym whispering to Purl-Hew.

“Can you not see us walking over there as we speak?” Nova asked, turning away from J and walked to the telescope, the three androids nearby it scattered as they stared at him.

“Nope, I’m too busy staring at the not-sky,” Zimelu said.

Nova stopped by the telescope, scanning over it and adjusting a few of the pieces before he stepped back and turned to Zimelu. “Well then, would you like to come get a look at the real sky?”

“Heck yeah!” Zimelu hopped to his feet in a flash, marching straight over to the telescope with the slightest hint of a smile on his face. “About time we do something interesting.”

“Zimelu, be polite,” J said, walking over to Eloni as he continued to point his phone to the projected night sky.

“Sorry,” Zimelu muttered, stepping past his brothers as he tilted his head at Nova. “What are we gonna look at?” he asked.

“Give me just a moment,” Nova muttered, looking over the telescope and flipping open another control panel before placing his head to the eyepiece.

As Nova stared into the night sky, he realized he’d forgotten just how clear this telescope was.

It was a shame nobody bothered to use the thing anymore. 

Nova pressed a button on the control panel that automatically moved the telescope’s view to the east, then a little further up, searching the sky until he found…

“Aha! There’s Saturn,” Nova said, stepping away from the telescope and motioning Zimleu over. As Zimelu stepped forward and peered through the eyepiece, Nova continued. “When magnified, it’s a truly magnificent planet to behold. With this telescope, the rings and even a few of the moons are visible.”

“Oh, wow.” Zimelu paused, staring into the eyepiece a little longer. “Is that little dot in the upper right one of the moons?”

Nova nodded, stepping back as the other androids began to crowd around Zimelu. “Indeed.”

“That… Sure is something,” Zimelu muttered, breaking into a small grin as he stepped away from the telescope, looking to the rest of the androids. “Okay, whoever’s next, go ahead.”

The moment Zimelu opened his mouth, Haym rushed forward and took his place at the telescope, only for Rin approach him from behind with crossed arms.

“Dude, I called it next.”

Haym simply shrugged. “So? I got here first. Also, I’m older than you. I deserve this.”

Rin frowned, jabbing Haym in the shoulder repeatedly. “What’re you talking about? I was built before you.”

“I became sentient two months before you, which makes me older.”

“He’s got a point, you know,” Eloni said, seemingly appearing out of thin air off to Nova’s side.

Rin stepped back with a groan, leaning against a wall while Zimelu snickered at him.

Nova glanced between the androids. Zimelu had pulled out his phone while Rin shot glares at Haym, meanwhile Purl-Hew seemed to be doing nothing but twiddling his thumbs as he waited for his turn and Eloni leaned against the wall.

This was dreadfully boring.

Nova clasped his hands together, stepping forward as the androids shot to attention. “So! While you’re all waiting around, why don’t we talk about the,” Nova motioned upward to the image of the sky, “ _big picture_ , if you will.”

Amidst the chorus of groans that ensued, a snicker from J carried over from the blanket pile.

Eloni gave Nova a look of pure dismay. “Mr. DJ, you can talk all about the stars and stuff if you never say that again. Please. Promise me that.”

“I will promise you nothing,” Nova replied. He turned up to the image of the sky, motioning to it as Eloni squinted at him. “Anyway, where shall we start? There’s plenty to talk about.”

Zimelu wasted no time in pointing out a highlighted constellation in the eastern sky. “Okay, let’s go with that constellation over there. What’s its deal?”

“Ah, an excellent choice,” Nova said, turning to the stars. “That’s the constellation of Lyra, the harp. It’s meant to represent the harp of Orpheus, the man who, in Greek mythology, traveled to the underworld to return his wife back to the realm of the living, but lost her forever after failing to heed the warnings of the gods.”

“That’s a pretty sad backstory for a harp,” Purl-Hew murmured.

“Oh, most definitely,” Nova said, “that’s why we won’t be lingering on the tragedy, and we will instead focus our attention to one star. If you look at the odd star to the side of the rhombus, you will notice that it’s far brighter than the other stars pictured. That, boys, is Vega, the brightest star visible in the summer sky. It is a part of the summer triangle, which also consists of Deneb, which is to the lower left of Vega, and Altair, which is to the lower far right. Deneb and Altair, like Vega, are parts both of constellations other than the summer triangle, with Deneb belonging to Cygnus, the swan, while Altair belongs to Aquilla, the eagle…”

* * *

Rin looked away from the telescope, stepping back as he raised an eyebrow at Nova, who stood next to the telescope. “Wait, so what was that whole thing about Scorpius and Orion, again?

Over the past couple of hours spent at the observatory, the majority of the androids sat on the floor near the telescope, buried in the blanket pile as they chattered away. Even J had migrated next to the telescope, with a pillow shoved between his back and the wall he sat leaned up against as he tapped something into his phone.

“Myths vary, but most agree that Scorpius was raised into the sky to hunt down and kill Orion,” Nova said, inspecting the telescope as he prepared to adjust it, “however, Orion is always on the run, which is why he can only be seen during the winter months, while Scorpius can be seen to the south in summer.”

Eloni sighed. “Yet _another_ ‘some dude’s gonna be eternally punished’ constellation.”

“I say we just start making our own stories for them,” Purl-Hew suggested, glancing up from his game of rock-paper-scissors with Zimelu. “Like, come on! Murder scorpions are overdone. I wanna see a nice scorpion.”

“Okay,” Rin said, sitting beside Eloni, “what if instead of Scorpius chasing Orion, it’s the other way around?”

Haym grinned. “Like Scorpius is his pet that got out?”

“She’d need to be a pretty clever scorpion to keep outwitting Orion, though,” Zimelu muttered, “wasn’t he a really good hunter or something?”

“Maybe she’s magic,” Purl-Hew said.

Rin tilted his head with a frown. “A magic scorpion?”

“Dude, it’s a constellation,” Eloni chuckled, “let the nice star scorpion have magic.”

At that, a short jingle came from J’s phone, followed by a few taps before J’s voice crackled throughout the observatory. “Boys, consider this your twenty minute warning before the limo arrives,” he said, pocketing his phone and the wire, “make sure you have your things packed before we go.”

Amidst a sea of complaints from the boys, Nova spoke up, cutting them off. “Actually, that’s just enough time to find one more celestial body with this telescope,” he said, turning to the androids, “is there any specific planet or star you all would like to see before you go?”

Before any of his brothers could begin bickering, Zimelu pointed at Eloni. “I’m pretty sure it’s your turn to pick.”

Eloni sat up at that. “Oh, okay.” He looked to the portion of the roof that was open to the real sky, staring intently before brightening up and turning to Nova. “Can we look at Pluto?”

Nova froze, turning to Eloni. “I mean, you _can_ ,” he said, “but, there really isn’t much special about it. It’s a tiny, irrelevant speck compared to the grander parts in our night sky. Is there really nothing else you would like to see?”

Eloni shook his head. “Nope.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yup!” he grinned, “Pluto’s always been my favorite planet and it deserves some love.”

Nova sighed, bringing a hand to his head. “I’m sorry to have to break it to you, but Pluto is no longer classified as a planet.”

Eloni pointed to his chest. “It’s still a planet in my heart.”

“You don’t even have a heart. You’re composed of metal and wires.”

“Dude, stop trying to ruin his dreams!” Haym whined, sitting up and crossing his arms at Nova.

“Seriously,” Zimelu added, “just let us see Pluto before we have to go home.”

With a sigh, Nova turned to the telescope and looked through the eyepiece, adjusting the telescope for a little over a minute before stepping away and motioning Eloni over. “Come see your favorite dwarf planet.”

Eloni grinned as he threw off his blanket and scrambled to his feet, looking through the telescope before slowly falling into a frown. “Wait. Where is it?”

“Do you see the slightly larger object toward the middle of the telescope?”

“Yeah!”

“Look to the left and downward. That tiny, barely illuminated speck is Pluto.”

Eloni fell silent for just a moment, tilting his head in front of the eyepiece before breaking into yet another, more develish grin and hopping away. “Zi! You should come here to see the coolest _planet_ in the night sky!”

Zimelu was up and by Eloni’s side in a flash, looking through the telescope for a moment before nodding as he turned to Eloni. “It really is cool, seeing Pluto in such detail.”

“What are you talking about? You can see nothing more than a speck,” Nova grumbled.

“Wait, I wanna see too,” Rin said, striding over and pushing past Zimelu, only to gasp when he looked through the eyepiece. “Oh, wow! I may just have to promote Pluto to my second favorite planet!”

“Pluto is not a planet.”

Haym and Purl-Hew finally joined the group, snickering between themselves as they took turns looking through the telescope.

“Ooh, I can’t believe we saved such an important planet until last,” Purl-Hew said.

Haym nodded in agreement before staring at Nova. “I know right? Maybe Pluto should be promoted to like, a superplanet or something, so we remember to look for it at night. Because it's a planet.”

“Enough,” Nova hissed, turning and marching away from the androids. “I will not sit by and idly endure your insolence.”

“Wait, Mr. Supernova!” Rin called out.

Nova paused, turning to Rin. “What do you want?”

Rin only offered a smirk to Nova. “Can we hear some fun planet facts about Pluto?”

“Absolutely not!” Nova bellowed, storming away from the telescope and to the wall where J sat. He marched straight past J, putting a decent distance between them before he leaned against the wall. He shoved on his headphones and scrolled through his phone, attempting to find a song that would drown out the cackles of the androids.

Just as Nova thought he’d found a halfway decent song, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“You seem awfully worked up over a dwarf planet,” J said.

Nova sighed, tucking his phone away as he turned to J. “It’s the principle of it all,” he muttered, “there’s no discernable reason for them to misclassify Pluto, other than to stay willfully ignorant.”

“Or maybe they just wanted to piss you off.”

“Ah, yes, thank you for pointing that out to me. I never would have guessed.”

“Anytime,” J chuckled. “So you know for the future, though, had you just let Eloni look at Pluto without further comment, the boys would have left you alone.”

“I understand what you’re saying,” Nova sighed, “but still… Why Pluto? It’s nothing special, and it’s really not worth looking at through a telescope. They could have asked to see Polaris, or perhaps I could have found Venus for them, but _Pluto_ is the hill they want to die on? It makes no sense.”

“Does it? It’s easy to see the bright stars in the sky every night, so why not use the telescope to see the things that aren’t normally visible?” J asked, “I doubt you come out here every time you want to see the moon, but I’m sure you’ll use the telescope if you wanted to get a look at an asteroid.”

Nova paused. “I haven’t actually come to use the observatory in years.”

“What?” J placed his hands on his hips. “Why would you not visit this place every now and then? It’s got a powerful telescope, innovative features, and you live in Cast Tech.”

Nova shrugged. “I’ve been busy with work as of late. And besides, it’s not like the observatory’s ever open for use anymore.”

“You’re so busy you can’t even stay behind after a concert to use the telescope?”

“They close immediately after concerts,” Nova said, “and even if they didn’t, I have other projects, you know.”

“Like what?”

“Well, between planning music lessons for your son, I’ve been working to redesign the NSR satellite.” Nova crossed his arms. “Unfortunately, it means I haven’t had much spare time to stargaze.”

“Oh,” J muttered, folding his arms behind his back. “I think Purl-Hew briefly mentioned your new satellite once. How’s it going so far?”

“It’s going.” Nova turned his gaze away from J. “There have been a few issues in ensuring the longevity of the satellite.”

“Such as?”

“Well, finding durable yet lightweight materials that we can use to build the main structure of the device that doesn’t cost half of Vinyl City’s budget is a challenge in and of itself, and well as understanding how to keep human error in the manufacturing stage from manifesting and driving the satellite to ruin.” Nova watched as the androids stood around the telescope, jabbering at each other as they pointed at some constellation. “So, generally, finding and building parts that will last as long as possible without driving the city to bankruptcy.”

“Why not just make cheaper, easier to manufacture parts that can be easily replaced?” J inquired.

“Again, J, it’s meant to be long lasting.”

“I know, and I’m telling you that the best way to make sure something lasts is to build it so that every part is easily replaceable and versatile,” J said, his radar pinging, “if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the technology we consider cutting-edge today will eventually become obsolete. The only way to keep your invention from becoming obsolete too, is to make sure it can easily adapt to and incorporate the new and better technology that’ll inevitably arise.”

J began pacing as he spoke. “If you don’t do this, your project will at some point turn into a hassle to keep afloat, with parts that become increasingly rarer to come by and restore and newer models fulfilling your invention’s intended purpose better. Going down this path, there will eventually be a point where it’s just easier to throw the entire thing away and create something new to replace it.”

“But then, at what point does my satellite become an entirely new one?”

“Does it really matter, as long as the satellite is still running?”

Did it?

The satellite itself was meant to be Nova’s mark on the universe, but he supposed that as long as the satellite continued to send his music across the galaxy, there would still be a piece of him out there.

Perhaps later notoriety from the satellite could be sacrificed for the long-term goal.

“You bring up some intriguing points,” Nova said, looking back to J, “I haven’t actually thought of any of this before just now.”

“Well, now you know!”

“Yes, but I don’t _understand_ any of it. I’ve never designed a blueprint with any thought surrounding how easy it may be to replace something, and I’ll need to completely rethink how the satellite will be built with different materials...” Nova tilted his head at J. “May I request your assistence in this? You know far more than I do when it comes to these sorts of concepts.”

J straightened his back with the ping of his radar. “Of course, I’d love to help.”

At that, another short jingle came from J’s pocket.

“Ah, that should be the limo,” J muttered, grabbing his phone and wire as he turned to his androids. “Boys! Have you gathered your things? The limo’s here.”

The androids all paused, staring at J with wide eyes before turning to the pile of blankets, which remained untouched.

Haym’s face split into a nervous grin. “Hey, Pops, could we have _one_ extra minute? We forgot a couple of things”

“You have sixty seconds.”

The androids wasted no time in rushing to the pile, nearly trampling each other as they dove in to grab their backpacks and shove anything and everything they’d brought into them.

J turned back to Nova as he plugged in the wire to his monitor and tapped at the screen. “Is there anything you would like help with putting away while I’m waiting?”

Nova shook his head. “Most everything here is automatic.”

“Understood,” J said, pocketing his phone and making his way toward the door. “Anyways, we’ll have to wait to talk about your blueprints some other time. How'd Tuesday, seventeen hundred hours, at the mansion?”

“That should work,” Nova said, following J. “I’ll call you if anything unexpected comes up.”

J nodded as he stopped by the door, turning around to the androids as he stood silent for a few moments.

“Minute’s up!” he called out.

The androids immediately scurried over to J, throwing on their backpacks which threatened to spill over with blankets and pillows as they ran.

J’s radar pinged as his androids stopped, lined up in front of him. He nodded to himself before turning to Nova. “Before we go, I must thank you for providing your knowledge tonight. This trip would have been far less exciting without it.”

The androids each began shouting out their own thank yous, except Rin, who simply glanced at both J and Nova before looking away.

“Of course,” Nova said, glancing at the boys before looking back at J. “You all have a safe trip home.”

“And you have a good night,” J chuckled. At that, he pushed open the door and stepped outside, his androids following moments later.

“See ya, Mr. Nova!” Purl-Hew shouted just as the door closed.

Once again, Club Planetarium was near empty.

Nova turned around and scanned the floor as he walked through the observatory. Nothing had been left behind, and nothing stood out of place as Nova stopped at the control panel for the second time tonight.

He started with closing the roof, followed by turning off the lights in the ceiling, and lastly opening the floor once more to watch as the telescope sank back into the depths.

How terrible, that such a marvelous device would be left to rot underground once more.

As the telescope lowered out of sight and the floor closed over it, it became apparent that everything had been put away.

Nova looked through the venue one last time before he walked to the door.

The observatory had the potential to be something truly magnificent outside of concerts. Sure, it seemed bare, but if visitors would give it a chance, it could become so much more.

Though, Nova supposed that the building would first need to be open for visitors to stop by. Yet, without the revenue from visitors, the venue would continue down this path of closure. It was no doubt a vicious cycle, but what was one to do? Nova had tried simply throwing money at the problem long ago, when he’d first become the charter of Cast Tech, and nothing had come from it. Most people simply didn’t want to pay to listen to long lectures and wait around to use a telescope, which were all that the observatory hours truly offered.

So, perhaps it was time to offer something new.

Nova pulled out his phone and keys as he stepped out of Club Planetarium, tapping notes into his phone as he locked the door behind him.

His rambling notes were nowhere near a solid plan just yet, but they didn’t need to be. They were simply ideas for now, fragmented and disorganized, but with time and effort, the ideas could be refined, built upon, and turned into plans.

And plans could be just enough to revive the observatory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story time! When I was like 11-12, my mom took me out to this star party thing out on the river, where I think there was a supermoon and a comet out that night. Whatever it was, it had a bunch of people out, all with their own telescopes pointed at different parts of the sky and they were inviting everyone to come look. One guy had his telescope aimed at the moon and it was so bright that it hurt to look at, and another person had her telescope pointed at what I'm pretty sure was the north star, but I don't remember for sure. I DO remember the telescope pointed at Saturn though, and it was my FAVORITE thing to look at all night because it was so bright and clear, which is why Saturn makes a feature in this chapter!
> 
> Also, we're a little over a quarter of the way through already! Holy shit!
> 
> Thank you everyone who's read so far! I love y'all!!!! <3


	7. Rough Draft

The time was 5:38pm, Tuesday, and Nova had been stuck on public transit for over an hour.

Despite Nova leaving his penthouse with plenty of time to get to the Metro Division, the bus had already been running fifteen minutes behind before it even arrived in Cast Tech. Normally that wouldn’t have been too much of an issue, but only after boarding the bus was Nova made aware of the traffic, which had been absolutely horrendous all day. Lastly, to make matters even worse, Nova discovered he’d left his phone at the penthouse just as he’d gotten the idea to call J and make him aware of the situation.

Suffice to say, the call never occurred, and Nova was profoundly late for his meeting with J.

Without the option of using his headphones to drown out the simpletons around him, Nova forced himself to focus on the tapping of his foot. Between the nonstop gossiping of the two teens behind him, the clicking of an older woman’s knitting needles, and the man who had spoken with his phone on _speaker_ for the past ten minutes, the rhythm of his foot tapping against the floor was the only thing keeping Nova even somewhat sane.

Watching as Natura slowly faded into the Metro Division from the view of the window, Nova let out a small sigh. As the bus stop finally came into view and the vehicle began to slow, Nova held the briefcase containing his satellite blueprints close.

Nova took to his feet as the wheels came to a full stop, shoving past the other bus passengers as he rushed to the front of the bus.

He was out the door the moment it opened.

Nova hurried through the Metro Division, with only his memory to serve as his directions. He held his briefcase close as the chattering of tourists overtook his hearing and the heat of the evening sun beat down upon his back.

Thankfully, the Metro Division was a relatively easy District to navigate. It was simple, a turn left at the arcade machines, and a right turn at the neon pink palm tree, continue straight once the intersection with the movie theater became visible, until finally...

After rounding one more corner, Nova had found the path to the side gate. Behind the gate stood Baracca Mansion, just as blindingly bright as ever.

Nova finally slowed as he approached the gate and searched the fence post for a device similar to the speaker at the front gate. Entering Baracca Mansion without calling J first would be nigh impossible due to the sheer security of the place, but Nova had already spent over an hour on the bus to come all the way out here. The very least he could do was leave an apology on the messaging system.

Unfortunately, inspecting the side gate revealed no visible speaker to Nova.

He sighed at this revelation, looking along the fence to determine the direction the front gate was in. After glancing both ways, Nova held his briefcase close as he turned right.

However, before Nova could begin walking, Zimelu’s voice crackled through the air, coming from a speaker on a fence post Nova had apparently failed to inspect. 

“Hey, look who finally decided to show up!”

Nova spun around to the gate. “Wait- Zimelu?” he said, taking a step back from the gate and directing his gaze to a camera on the fence.

The camera began moving from side to side in a rapid motion. “That’s me.”

“Thank the stars you're here,” Nova muttered, letting out a sigh of relief. “I take it you’ve somehow gained access to the security system again?”

“I mean, kinda?” A soft tapping of metal against wood came through the speaker. “I didn’t exactly ‘gain access’. Dad changed the passwords to all the security stuff a while ago.” The camera stopped wiggling around, instead stopping to focus on Nova. “It’s more like Dad needed someone to keep lookout for you while he worked on some things, and since I volunteered, he unlocked some of the security functions for me.”

Nova tilted his head. “Why would J station a lookout when he simply told me to call when I arrived?”

“Why would you just stand around at the gate instead of calling when you got here?”

Nova looked to the ground. “Well, you see, I left my phone back in Cast Tech.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much what Dad guessed.” Zimelu snickered. “He tried calling you a few times when he realized you were late, and since you didn’t pick up, he assumed something like that might have happened. And so, I got to hang out in the security room!” Zimelu paused as a shuffling noise came through the speaker. “Anyways, want me to open the gate up? Because I can do that, unless you’re just dying to talk to a camera some more.”

“I’ll take the gate, thank you.”

“Okay, gimme just a second.”

Nova glanced to the gate, which fell ajar with a soft click.

“Make sure you close the gate behind you,” Zimelu said, “I’ll meet you at the door.”

Nova offered the camera a thumbs up as he stepped onto the property, carefully closing the gate behind him before approaching the door. He had probably only made it halfway across the lawn before the door was kicked open by Zimelu, who proceeded to stand in the doorframe and stare directly at Nova.

“Dude. You’re slow.”

Nova crossed his arms. “Unlike you, I have lungs to take into consideration when I move.”

“I’m not gonna lie, being organic really sounds like it really sucks sometimes.”

Zimelu stepped aside for Nova, waiting for him to walk inside before shutting the door and checking the multiple locks on it. “Okay, so, I know you wanna start your meeting thing with Dad, but I genuinely have no clue where he’s at right now.” He turned on his heel to stare at Nova once more. “So I was thinking, instead of dragging you all over the mansion, I could just leave you with Eloni while I hunt him down. Does that work?”

Nova shrugged. “I have no qualms with that, so long as I’m not left in some corner of the house to rot like last time.”

“I promise that was a one-time thing. Plus, it wasn’t even my idea,” Zimelu snickered, turning and walking down the hall. “Anyway, try to keep up!”

“Understood,” Nova said, following Zimelu down the hall and around the corner.

The route Zimelu led Nova down certainly felt familiar, but the hallways were all too similar to each other to tell for sure. The war memorabilia mounted to the walls all blurred together, and the closed doors in each hallway offered nothing unique to remember. Sure, it probably all seemed unique enough to the androids for them to navigate, but in truth, it was hardly fathomable how _anyone_ could live here and not find themselves lost at every turn.

As Nova passed by yet another picture of a navy vessel, Zimelu spoke up.

“So, DJ, I’ve got a question for you,” he said, turning down yet another indistinguishable hallway.

“If that’s the case, I’d like to ask a question in return.”

“Yeah, sure. That’s fair.” 

“Good,” Nova muttered. “Anyway, what was your question?”

“So, you mentioned that you knew Dad probably wouldn’t let you in if you didn’t have your phone on you.” Zimelu paused, taking a moment to adjust a crooked picture frame before continuing forward. “Did you only realize you’d forgotten your phone when you got to the gate or something? It seems like a waste of your time to come all the way out here if you thought you weren’t gonna even be allowed inside.”

“That’s an excellent question,” Nova said, picking up the pace so that he walked beside Zimelu. “I actually stopped by with the intention of leaving an apology on the voicemail system.”

“You came all the way out here just to say sorry?” Zimelu tilted his head as he glanced at Nova. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just go home and call to apologize?”

“Normally, yes. However, I didn’t realize I’d forgotten my phone until I was about halfway through Natura.” Nova turned to Zimelu. “Not to mention, while traffic was an absolute nightmare on the way here, it would have been even worse had I chosen to return to Cast Tech. I thought my best option would be to endure the rest of the ride, apologize at the front gate, and then wait around in the Metro Division until traffic cleared up.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Zimelu said. “In the end, I guess it really was your best option, seeing how things turned out.”

Nova nodded in agreement. “Indeed.”

“So, what’s _your_ question?”

“Ah, yes,” Nova said, “I was curious as to why you’d volunteer to sit around and watch security cameras. It sounds as though it would be a fairly dull job, especially when I’m sure you have plenty to do in the mansion.”

Zimelu glanced at the DJ and shrugged. “The cameras aren’t boring, actually. They let me see what happens outside, in the real world.” He slowed, glancing at a picture of a group of soldiers before continuing on. “I think I'd take that over anything in this mansion.”

Before Nova could reply, Zimelu snapped his head away from the photo and hurried down the hall, forcing Nova to follow.

“Hey, ‘Loni!” Zimelu called out as he turned the corner. As Nova did the same, he was met with a view of the front room, with the entryway and the front door to the right and the stairs to the left. The front room was only in slight disarray, with the couch shoved to the side and a few pillows on the floor. Eloni sat sprawled across two beanbags in front of the TV, which displayed some sort of game where Eloni seemed to be building an indecipherable mess of a side-scrolling level on the screen.

“Wassup?” Eloni muttered, setting down his controller as he rolled over. The moment he noticed Nova, he sat up straight. “Oh, hey Mr. DJ! I was starting to think you weren’t gonna show up.”

Nova looked to Eloni and sighed. “I don’t blame you. I was beginning to believe I’d never arrive.”

Zimelu stepped forward. “I’m gonna leave the DJ with you while I go look for Dad. Is that all right?”

“Yeah, of course,” Eloni chuckled.

“Cool.” Zimelu placed his hands on his hips as he glanced to the stairs. “Oh, speaking of, you got any idea where Dad is?”

Eloni’s smile faltered as he turned to his brother. “I’m pretty sure he’s sorting fanmail.”

“...Oh.”

“Yep,” Eloni muttered, adjusting himself on his beanbag until he sat cross-legged. “Anyway, if you see Haym while you’re looking around, tell him to come here and try out my level.” He glanced to the screen and furrowed his brow. “I _know_ the stupid thing’s beatable, but god, I’m _so_ sick of looking at it.”

Zimelu snickered. “Yeah, I’ll let Haym know,” he said, turning and walking toward the stairs. “I’ll be back in a bit, DJ!”

Nova waved to Zimelu as he ran up the stairs. As Zimelu disappeared from sight, Nova turned to Eloni, who stared at him with a tilted head.

After a moment, Eloni offered Nova a smile. “You know, you’re free to sit down,” he said, motioning to the couch.

“Ah, yes. Thank you,” Nova muttered, walking to the couch and setting his briefcase down beside it. “How have you been?” he asked as he sat down.

Eloni settled back into the beanbags as he grabbed his controller. “Weirdly average.” He pressed a button, making a man with a red hat and overalls appear on the left side of the screen, who was immediately run into some spikes. “Since the star party, nothing interesting’s really happened other than rehearsals. No big interviews, no fans patrolling the fence, heck, Haym and Purl-Hew haven’t even tried setting something on fire.” He fell silent as his character respawned, managing to jump only once before dying again. He simply chuckled at the screen before glancing at Nova. “By the way, Purl-Hew says hi!”

“If you see him before I do, let him know I say the same.” Nova tilted his head at the screen, watching Eloni’s character die yet again. “Though, I’m curious, why couldn’t he just come down here and say hello himself?”

“I think we’ve all just been taking a ‘me’ day,” Eloni shrugged. “Meaning Purl-Hew’s probably working on his music again, Haym's probably still digging through storage, and Rin-”

Metal footsteps grew audible as a voice called out, “Hey, Eloni?”

Speak of the devil.

Eloni paused his game and turned to the stairs. “Whatcha need?”

“In the last harmony, were you the one on the _D sharp_ ~?” Rin asked, tacking an autotuned flair onto the last part of his sentence. “I know the Captain moved us around, but I could barely hear a word he was saying with Haym and Purl-Hew in my ear.” He came into view as he walked down the stairs, chuckling as he looked down at his phone. ”All I know is he said D sharp and pointed at _someone_ before-” Rin glanced up from his phone, only to stop dead in his tracks as his expression fell and his eyes locked onto Nova. “Oh. Hello, Mr. Supernova.”

Nova nodded in acknowledgement to Rin as Eloni paused his game and turned around. “Yeah, I had the D sharp. Dad moved your note up to an A.”

“Okay, cool,” Rin muttered, pocketing his phone as he continued to stare down Nova.

“Ehm… Good evening, Rin.” Nova squirmed slightly under Rin’s gaze. “Long time no see.”

“Not really.” Rin placed his hands on his hips as he stepped forward, squinting at Nova. “You’ve actually been showing up a lot lately.”

“Hm.” Nova looked to the TV to avoid Rin’s unwavering gaze. “I suppose so.”

“The company’s always welcome, though!” Eloni said, his eyes flicking between Rin and Nova as he sat up. “It’s not like we’re swamped with visitors or anything. Right, Rin?”

Rin shrugged. “I guess.”

Nova brought a hand to his headphones, running his thumb along the ridge as he focused on the TV. Nova could feel Rin’s eyes on him as Eloni returned to his game, which provided the only noise in the room. No white noise whirred in the background, and nobody spoke. 

As Eloni’s character died once more, Rin stepped back into Nova’s field of view. He opened his mouth to speak, only to snap his head in the direction of the stairwell as the ping of a radar rang throughout the room.

“Nova! Sorry for the wait,” J called out from the stairs, gripping the handrail as Zimelu hurried past him with a basket of envelopes.

Nova hopped to his feet, grabbing his briefcase as he walked toward the stairs and away from Rin. “Oh, no. If anyone’s to apologize, it’s me.”

J shook his head as he stepped down from the stairs. “No need, I already heard about traffic,” he said, tilting his head. “Speaking of which, are you still sane after the drive here?”

“Only barely.”

“Sounds about right,” J snickered, folding his arms behind his back. “So, let’s be off, shall we?”

Nova nodded. “Indeed.”

“Actually Captain, a question before you go,” Rin interjected, marching to J. His expression had gone from stone cold to a softer, more neutral look one would expect of a teenager.

J paused, holding a finger up to Nova as he turned to Rin. “What is it?”

“Can we look through our fanmail now?” Rin asked, tilting his head and pointing to the basket of envelopes, which had been set by the couch while Zimelu and Eloni carried out a hushed conversation.

“Of course,” J replied, patting Rin on the shoulder. “If you see your brothers, please let them know where the basket’s at.”

Rin gave J a salute. “Yes, sir,” he said, turning on his heel and hurrying over to the basket.

“Thank you,” J said, turning back to Nova as he began to walk away from the stairs. “So, Nova, I was thinking-”

“Wait, Dad,” Eloni said, glancing up from his conversation as Zimelu frowned.

J came to an immediate halt once more, turning to Eloni. “Yes?”

Eloni glanced at the basket, narrowing his eyes at it. “So, uh… Do I even need to bother checking through the letters?”

J’s radar pinged once as his shoulders tensed. “...No,” he muttered, only to straighten his back and raise his voice. “However, I’m not finished sorting through everything! Remember that.”

Eloni let out a genuine sounding chuckle, though his smile was laced with barely contained disappointment. “Yeah. Maybe there’ll be something in the next batch.” He waved to Nova as he turned around and unpaused his game. “Sorry for interrupting. You two go have fun jabbering about whatever the heck it is!”

J stood silently for a moment, his radar pinging once before he simply nodded to Eloni. “If you need anything, I’ll be in the workshop,” he said, motioning for Nova to follow as he turned down the halls.

Nova glanced at the boys one last time. Zimelu had sat down upon the other beanbag, watching Eloni play his game as he attempted to make conversation, while Rin took a moment to stop digging through the basket, instead staring down Nova once more. Nova took this cue, turning and wasting no time in hurrying after J.

They walked in near silence apart from the occasional ping, with J leading the way through the maze of hallways.

Only after the third turn, once they were far out of earshot of the androids, did Nova speak up.

“J,” Nova muttered, “could I ask you something?”

J stopped in front of a door, keeping his voice low as he turned to Nova. “Go ahead.”

Nova cleared his throat as he shifted in his spot. “What was all that with Eloni and the fanmail?”

J sighed. “In short, he never gets any.” He pulled a keyring from his coat pocket, feeling each key before moving onto the next one.

“Why’s that?” Nova asked, tilting his head.

“I’ve been trying to figure that out for years,” J shrugged, picking a key out. "He works just as hard as the rest of his brothers, if not harder, and it's not like he's never in the spotlight," he said, turning to the door and brushing his hand over the handle before attempting to unlock it. “In fact, I’ve done just about everything to get him more positive attention, from exclusive interviews to showstopping solos, but the fans just never bite.” 

Nova’s fingertips pressed into his palm as a heavy, thorned feeling twisted through his gut. “That’s... Unfortunate.”

“Yeah.”

With that, the lock clicked and J pushed the door open, revealing his workshop. “Anyways, let’s move on. Enough time’s gone to waste today, don’t you think?”

“I suppose so,” Nova muttered, stepping into the room.

J nodded, grabbing a wire from his pocket and shrugging off his coat as he walked across the room to his desk. He threw his coat onto one of the shelves along the walls and wrapped the wire around his wrist as he grabbed his chair and desk. The desk was large, with a posable metal frame attached and a camera in its grips, while the chair was simple and made from a light wood.

J pushed the chair over to Nova before grabbing the desk and, despite his slender build, dragging it to the middle of the room with ease. After getting the desk in place, he turned and walked to the wall, grabbing the handle of a tall bucket with a lid on it and dragging it over. “So,” he said, “what’re your main concerns with the satellite?”

Nova set his briefcase onto the desk, opening it up and pulling out his blueprints. “I… Actually don’t know.” He laid some of his more recent blueprints out, sighing as he looked them over. “I attempted some research on my own, but I still don’t understand much of replaceability. For example, where to apply replaceability techniques on the satellite what sorts of structures I should use to best implement it are beyond me.”

J sat down on the bucket once he’d dragged it to the desk, crossing one leg over the other and grabbing his own knee. “So basically, you understand jack shit.”

“Just about.”

J chuckled, leaning forward over his knee. “Well, luckily for you, I’ve actually got a perfect example of replaceable engineering on hand.”

Nova glanced up from the desk as he smoothed out a blueprint. “Oh?”

“Well, maybe not on _hand_ , per se.” J sat up straight once more, his radar pinging as he detached his leg from the knee down and held it up. “Here, catch!”

Nova barely had time to react as J’s leg flew past him, flinching as it clanged to the floor just beside him.

“J, with all due respect,” he said, grabbing J’s leg from the ground and attempting to hand it back to him, “what the _hell_?”

J didn’t respond to Nova offering his leg back, instead launching into a speech. “This body is the definition of replaceable design done right, so it features many elements you may want to use in your satellite.” J grabbed the desk to balance himself as unraveled the wire from his wrist and plugged it into his monitor. “Anyway, please look to the joints on the limb and tell me what you see.”

Nova placed the leg down on the desk as he inspected it, looking to the knee joint in particular. “Well, one thing that stands out is how everything is relatively simple in design.”

“Exactly!” J plugged the other end of his wire into the camera in the metal frame, turning it on and pointing the lens at Nova. “Everything about this body - aside from the few organic parts that remain, obviously - was designed in a way so that it would be easy to reproduce. Making something replaceable is worthless if there’s no way to get a hold of new pieces.”

“...I see.” Nova looked between the robotic leg and his blueprints. “I didn’t even think about that in my latest design drafts for the satellite.”

“But did you attempt to use anything you’d researched?” J asked, tilting his head.

Nova cringed as he looked over the last blueprint he’d hastily scribbled up, with uneven lines and nearly nonsensical notes shoved into the margins of the paper. “Attempt is certainly the word.”

“An attempt is better than nothing at all!” J said, leaning forward and adjusting his camera to look down at the blueprints. “Show me what you’ve got so far. I’m sure there’s something in there that’s usable.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“Can we give it a shot anyways?”

Nova sighed, pushing the blueprint into view of J’s camera, moving it so it would be as easy to read as possible. J adjusted his camera, shoving it closer to the paper and moving it around at times.

J sat in silence for over a minute, occasionally pointing his camera at different areas of the paper.

Nova leaned back in his seat. “Well?”

J’s monitor twitched in Nova direction. “Um… I can say with confidence that your handwriting’s nice.”

“Yes, but what about the design?”

J tapped his fingers against the desk as he leaned back. “To put it kindly, it could use some work-”

Nova groaned, snatching a random blueprint off the table. “I knew it.”

“However, that’s not surprising!” J said, pointing the camera to Nova once more. “You’ve been working on this satellite for who knows how long, and now you’re suddenly attempting to implement ideas you hadn’t even thought of. The first couple dozen drafts are gonna be rough, but it's nothing that can't be smoothed out.” He began running his hand along the table, grabbing blindly. “Give me my leg back and get out some fresh paper. We’re going to figure out this design.”

Nova nodded, placing the leg into J’s hand before digging through his briefcase again. J wasted no time in reattaching his leg as Nova placed blank papers and a few pencils on the table.

“What do you think we should go over first?” Nova asked, pushing a few of the blueprints off to the side.

J turned the camera back down to the desk after reattaching his leg. He grabbed a pencil and immediately began sketching rough shapes onto the paper. “Well, first, let’s get a general feeling for the satellite, and then we’ll begin adjustments. What will the satellite be like with replaceable features, ideally?”

“Ah, well that’s easy.” Nova grabbed a pencil of his own and began to draw atop the shapes J had sketched out. “First off, the solar array is probably the most important part of the device, as it’s the primary power source for the satellite. Unfortunately, the solar array is also extremely susceptible to damage, which is why I need to know how to make it as easy and possible to switch pieces out…”

* * *

After hours of back and forth, designs and redesigns, and so much wasted paper, Nova held up the latest sketch triumphantly.

“J, I think we’ve finally figured it out.”

J tapped his camera, which was still pointed down at the desk. “Show me.”

Nova placed the paper down in front of the camera and pointed to a part of the sketch. “If we add sensors here, here, and here, when the solar array takes damage it should send radio signals down telling us exactly which parts of the solar array we need to replace. That way, we won’t even need to see the damage to know what’s happened.”

J clasped his hands together as he jumped to his feet, the wire disconnecting from his monitor as he punched the air. “Nova, that’s perfect!” He cried out, flopping back onto the bucket he’d been sitting on before feeling the metal frame for his camera and wire. “I believe that solves one of our major problems.”

“No, J,” Nova tapped the paper as he leaned back into his chair. “I’d go so far as to say it solves all of the major problems involving the solar array.”

J let out a laugh. “Even better! That means we can move on to the next component, right?”

Nova paused, glancing at his blueprints. “Well, that’s dependent upon the current time-”

“Twenty-three hundred hours sharp.”

Nova sat at attention. “Oh, my. That’s far later than I had assumed,” he muttered, beginning to gather the blueprints on the table. “I actually need to catch the bus back to Cast Tech.”

J nodded in understanding, grabbing the wire from the camera and standing up. “Are you really sure you want to use the bus to get back home? I could give you a ride back”

“I can continue working on the satellite on the bus, so yes.” Nova shoved all of the papers into his briefcase, closing it as he stood up. “I appreciate the offer, though.”

“I guess that’s understandable,” J muttered, running his hand along one of the shelves.

Nova walked to a different shelf, grabbing J’s coat and offering it to him. “I suppose you’re looking for this?”

“How’d you guess?” J asked, taking his coat and putting it on.

“Anyway,” Nova said, turning to the door, “would you mind if we met up some other day to talk about the rest of the satellite?”

J followed Nova to the door, shaking his head. “Of course not,” he said, pushing the door open and stepping into the hallway. “How’s the same time next week sound?”

“Perfect.”

J nodded and turned down the hall, folding his arms behind his back. “Good. Remember to bring your phone with you next time.”

Nova let out a soft chuckle as he followed J. “I’ll make a note.”

J paused for just a moment, tilting his head for a moment as his radar pinged, only to pick up the pace moments later.

They walked back to the front room in a comfortable silence, which was only broken once Nova left the hallway.

“Hey, Mr. Nova!”

The floor of the front room was covered with fanmail. Purl-Hew had draped himself across the back of the couch as he waved with a letter in his hand. Zimelu and Haym sat in the two beanbags, having an animated conversation between themselves, with Haym wearing a smug grin as Zimelu went on an exhausted ramble. Rin sat beside them all on the floor next to the TV, completely engrossed in a fan letter.

Eloni was nowhere to be seen as the TV displayed his paused game.

Nova took a moment to survey the scene before waving back to Purl-Hew, continuing to follow J to the door. “Purl-Hew, I’m glad to have seen you before I leave.”

“Yeah, same!” Purl-Hew grinned, sitting up as he continued to wave. “I know you've probably gotta go home, though, so I won't chat your ear off. See you Friday!”

Nova nodded, turning back to J as they made it to the door. J took a moment to go over all the locks as he tilted his head to himself. “Oh yeah, Purl-Hew has his music lesson Friday, doesn’t he?”

Nova paused. Between making music, working on the satellite, and preparing for the outing at the observatory, he’d almost forgotten all about Purl-Hew’s lessons.

“I suppose so.”

“You don’t sound too sure, there,” J chuckled, pushing the door open and stepping outside onto the front path.

“Listen, it’s been a busy week,” Nova muttered, following J all the way up to the gate.

“Oh, I’m sure.” J tapped a code into the pinpad at the fence, stepping back as the front gate fell open. “Anyways, you have a safe trip home,” J said, patting Nova on the shoulder, “and here’s hoping you don’t encounter any more traffic.”

“God. Knowing my luck, I’m sure I will, despite the time.” Nova sighed, stepping past the gate as it closed behind him. “You have a good night, J.”

“You too!”

As the gate clicked shut behind him, Nova realized he’d never felt less excited to return home.

Perhaps he could wait just a little longer.

Yes, yes. A little delay never hurt anyone.

Besides, there was something Nova needed to do.

Instead of walking to the bus stop, Nova turned the opposite direction, walking through the plaza. He passed by dozens of neon signs and pieces of architecture, and he ignored all of the ads featuring the boys in favor of keeping his pace, only stopping when he came across a collection box. The collection box stood in front of a merch store for 1010, and it was clearly labelled to be used for 1010 fanmail.

Nova sat on a bench, setting his briefcase beside him as he opened it and dug through to find a pencil and a blank piece of paper. He shut his briefcase and sat it on his lap, placing the paper atop it as he twirled his pencil between his fingers.

If Nova worked quickly, he could catch the next bus to Cast Tech.

Nova placed the pencil to the paper, using the neon lights of the District to see what he wrote.

_**To Eloni, the most reliable, kind, and hardworking member of 1010...** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> every time i get to write DJSS growing and becoming a better person my heart gets all crunchy and i wanna cry


	8. Price of Fame

The warm, crisp gold of the evening sun poured into Nova’s kitchen as the melody of Purl-Hew’s latest song echoed off of the walls. Nova quietly hummed along as he looked out upon Cast Tech, stirring his coffee as he watched the cars drive by on the street down below.

The melody of Purl-Hew’s song featured soft, flowing notes from a synth, accompanied by the harp and occasional chime while deep drums provided structure throughout the otherwise weightless song. The song overall was serene, but cold. Free, and yet extremely precise. It felt as though it stretched out longer than expected while the ending chords of the song introduced themselves far too soon.

Clouds shifted in front of the sun just as the song crescendoed, and as the glare of the sun quickly faded, so too did the music. Over the last few seconds, a cello was incorporated into the song, with the instrument eventually suffocating the melody before cutting to an eerie silence.

“So, whatcha think?”

Nova turned his gaze to Purl-Hew, who sat across from him at the kitchen table with a laptop and notepad in front of him. He stared at Nova behind his shades with a completely neutral expression, though his fidgeting with his pen very clearly displayed his nerves.

It was odd.

Nova had listened to no less than half a dozen of Purl-Hew’s tracks by now, and the android never awaited criticism with such palpable unease.

Nova set his coffee to the side and tented his fingers. “What did you say the title of this track was, again?” He asked.

“Trieste,” Purl-Hew responded, tapping his foot against the stone tile kitchen floor. “It’s the name of the first submarine with people in it to reach the bottom of the Challenger Deep.”

“I see-”

“By the way, I’m pretty sure Trieste is also a city, but the song’s about the submarine.” Purl-Hew began clicking the pen rapidly as he chuckled to himself. “It’s not like I’d write a song about some random city named after a submarine. I mean, who would when you really think about it? Seriously, only someone working in a _really_ weird niche would-”

Nova raised a hand, cutting Purl-Hew off. “That’s all very interesting,” Nova said, “but could we discuss your song? Your father will be here any minute, and I’d like to offer feedback before you go.”

“Oh, yeah.” Purl-Hew dropped the pen onto his notebook without hesitation, sitting at attention as he shoved his shades to his forehead. “Go ahead.”

“Thank you.” Nova leaned back in his seat once more. “Anyhow, let me begin by stating my belief that Trieste is one of your best works yet.”

A grin spread across Purl-Hew’s face almost instantly as the tension melted away from his posture. “Really?”

“Indeed,” Nova said, “the chords of the synth throughout the second third of the song harmonized wonderfully with the drums, and the slower tempo worked incredibly well. Also, the chimes were certainly an unexpected touch, but not unwelcome by any means.” He clasped his hands together as he stared at Purl-Hew. “Overall, the majority of the risks you took with the song worked to your advantage.” 

Purl-Hew nodded to himself, grabbing his pen from the table and scribbling into his notebook as the tension in his posture melted away. “I think the chimes were my favorite part to add in. They have a good sound to ‘em,” he said, still wearing a slight smile.

“I’d have to agree.”

Purl-Hew smiled in response, taking a moment to finish taking his notes before sitting back up and tilting his head at Nova. “Okay, now tell me what stuff didn’t work.”

As the clouds moved and the glare of the sun poured into the kitchen once more, Nova adjusted his hood and twisted away from the window. “I’d say that my main concern was about the volume levels. Each instrument was quite unbalanced, with the drums often overtaking the harp and overshadowing harmonies in ways that didn’t seem intentional.”

“Gotcha. I’ll definitely look out for that in the future,” Purl-Hew muttered, twirling the pen in his hand before beginning to write once more. “Anything else?”

“My only other criticism is more akin to a curiosity.” Nova tapped his fingers along the table. “The last part of the song seemed oddly… Out of character, with the cello at the end being quite foreboding compared to what we’d heard previously.” He shrugged. “I suppose I simply don't understand the choice to abruptly end the song on such a conflicting note.”

Purl-Hew let out a dry chuckle as he continued taking notes. “Yeah, I don’t understand it either.”

Nova sat still, waiting for an explanation from Purl-Hew that never came.

After a few seconds, Nova cleared his throat, garnering the attention of the android.

“Would you care to elaborate on that point?”

“Oh, yeah,” Purl-Hew muttered, sitting up once more. “So, uh, I promise I wasn’t being lazy, but I kinda had to throw the last part of the song together.”

Nova tilted his head. “What do you mean you _had_ to?”

“I just ran out of time, which sucks, because I had a super cool idea for the end,” he muttered, “but it’s been really hard going back to almost-normal after the past couple months.” Purl-Hew frowned slightly as he glanced out the window. “Like, I was working on my music whenever I could, but ever since our concerts started back up, it’s been 1010 all the time. If it’s not a concert, it’s rehearsals, and if it’s not rehearsals, it’s some sort of interview or event to promote the band.” He narrowed his eyes. “There’s just not much room for personal hobbies, yaknow?”

Nova simply nodded. “Such is the life of an NSR Megastar,” he said, “those are the sacrifices we must make for the fame and influence we have.”

Purl-Hew simply furrowed his brow. “...Yeah. I guess so.”

Nova tilted his head as he leaned forward in his seat. “So, since you’re so busy with 1010 related activities, would it be beneficial to your learning experience if I extended your project deadlines?”

“Nah. Don’t do that yet.” Purl-Hew twirled his pen between his fingers as he looked back to Nova, putting on a reassuring smile. “I’m gonna try bringing my laptop with me to concerts and stuff and see if I can work on my music in the free time I get. Unless that idea doesn’t work, I wanna stay on schedule as best I can.”

“Noted,” Nova said. “Anyway, I suppose since we're already on the subject on deadlines, I’ll give you your homework now. By next week I would like-”

Nova was cut off by his ringtone. Purl-Hew immediately shut his laptop at the noise and began gathering his belongings as Nova stood up, taking a brief moment to check the time before answering the phone.

“J, I can’t believe this. You’re four minutes late,” Nova said into the speaker, “I thought I’d never see the day you called a second after six P.M.”

J chuckled in response. “I’m only late because I was _pulled over_ ~!”

Nova could hear J’s voice through the door as he approached it. “Really? Only pulled over?” he inquired, “I’m surprised you weren’t arrested, considering the way you drive.”

“Oh, please. You act like I drive off overpasses for shortcuts and do wheelies on the highway for fun.”

“That’s because if you could actually look out for the police, you would.” Nova sighed, unlocking the door and pushing it open. “Or, you’d _attempt_ to, at least.”

J stood in the hallway with a paper bag in hand, his radar pinging once before he pocketed his phone and stepped forward. “Nova, I’ve been riding motorcycles for three decades. I could _absolutely_ do a wheelie if I so wished.”

Nova simply nodded, holding back a chuckle. “Sure,” he muttered, stepping aside. “Anyway, would you like to come in, rather than stand in the hallway?”

J shook his head. “No thank you,” he said, “I don’t actually have much time to chat today.”

“Oh, why not?”

“I have so much to do when we get home,” J sighed. “First, I need to call about a commercial the boys will be filming tomorrow before I work on the latest instrumental track for 1010. We also got a new shipment of fanmail that I need to sort through, and Zimelu’s been complaining about his auditory receptors being fuzzy, so I need to address that.”

“Zimelu probably just got some dust in his auditory receptors while he was digging around in the attic with Haym,” Purl-Hew said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he exited the kitchen.

“I hope it’s that easy of a fix,” J muttered, switching the bag to his other hand. “Anyway, Purl-Hew, are you ready to go?”

Purl-hew nodded as he walked past Nova and stood by his father. “Yeah, I think I’ve got everything.”

“Good,” J said, nodding to himself before turning back to Nova. "By the way, before we go”-he held the paper bag out to Nova-”I wanted to leave you with a parting gift.”

Nova froze for just a moment as he stared at the bag. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d received a gift from a friend.

Though, that may have had something to do with the fact that Nova hadn’t actually referred to anyone as a friend in ages.

As Purl-Hew’s questioning gaze burned into Nova, he snapped back to attention, tilting his head at the bag as he gently took it from J. “Why? What’s it for?” he asked, peering into the bag and being met with few different books pertaining to engineering.

“It’s just some material that could help with the satellite,” J shrugged, “I thought you might find it helpful in understanding replaceable and repairable design. They were some of my favorites when I was teaching myself the craft.”

“...I see.” Nova set the bag down by the door before looking back to J. “Thank you. I’ll look through these tonight, without a doubt.”

“Glad to hear!” J said, “make sure to tell me what you think of them afterward.”

Nova nodded. “Of course.”

J’s radar pinged as he folded his hands behind his back. “Anyways Nova, it’s been good talking to you, as always, but we need to get going-”

“Wait a second!” Purl-Hew gasped as J flinched and curled his fingers. “You never gave me my assignment for the week,” Purl-Hew muttered, shrugging off his backpack and digging through it.

“Ah, yes,” Nova muttered, turning to Purl-Hew, “I actually wanted to ask, you mentioned that you had big plans for the end of Trieste, correct?”

Purl-Hew nodded as he shoved his hand into his backpack. “Yeah.”

“Perfect. Your homework this week is-”

Nova was cut off by Purl-Hew shoving his notebook and pen in his face.

“Thank you,” Nova said as he took the book and pen, flipping to a random page and writing as he spoke. “I would like for you to complete Trieste properly by next week. I would like to see what your true vision for the song was.” He circled his writing before offering the notebook and pen back to Purl-Hew. “Is that clear?”

“Yup!” Purl-Hew grinned as he shoved the pen and notebook back into his backpack, turning back to J as he slung the backpack over his shoulder once more. “Okay, that’s it. We can go now.”

J nodded, waving to Nova as he turned on his heel. “See you Tuesday!” he called over his shoulder before marching to the elevator and turning to Purl-Hew. “You didn’t tell me you named one of your songs after the Trieste.”

Purl-Hew simply shrugged. “Well, I did.”

“It’s a truly interesting vessel, isn’t it?” J chuckled. “I remember finding myself fascinated with it in my youth. I even traveled out to the museum to see it in person.”

“Wait, really?” Purl-Hew asked, glancing at his father with wide eyes. “Was it cool?”

Nova closed his door before he could eavesdrop any further.

Left in his now nearly empty apartment, Nova wasted no time in walking back into the kitchen, where the evening sunlight continued to reflect off of every surface it could. He would have taken a moment to admire the sheer magnificence of the mundane if he didn’t have work to do.

Instead, Nova grabbed his coffee before promptly heading back to the main room. He set his coffee on the table and grabbed his laptop from underneath it as he sat on the couch. On top of the laptop was a scrap piece of paper with a to-do list that had been hastily scrawled up hours ago.

Nova sighed to himself as he opened up his laptop and glanced over the to-do list.

First and foremost, he needed to get to work composing.

Too bad one look at the music software still up on the laptop was enough to give Nova a headache.

Perhaps it would be best to take a break from music after teaching it for two hours, especially when there was plenty else to do. Nova could make calls around the District, approve new architecture, work to better optimize the electricity of Cast Tech, or even expand on his plans for Club Planetarium…

All dreadfully tedious work.

As Nova set his laptop down on the table, his vision slowly drifted to the bag of books left by the door.

Nova supposed some light reading wouldn’t hurt. An hour to decompress after having company would be just enough time to get back into the working mindset. Not to mention, it would be rude to leave J’s gift to gather dust.

He hopped to his feet and walked over to the bag, grabbing it and bringing it over to the couch. After setting the bag on the coffee table, he reached into it and grabbed a random book, not even bothering to check the cover before cracking it open and sitting down.

Just a few chapters.

* * *

Nova slammed his third cup of coffee down upon his latest blueprints as he flipped back to chapter 16 of _Resilience in Nature and the Future of Engineering_.

An hour long break to read a few chapters had rapidly evolved into the entire night.

So far, this time had been spent going through two of the six books J had given him. Thanks to the books, Nova had gathered a multitude of ideas for the satellite, leading to a complete revision of the design of most of the satellite components.

As Nova skimmed over the slightly blurry words on the page of the textbook, he nodded to himself and looked over his coffee table. Blueprints of all sorts laid sprawled across the surface, though one blueprint that jumped out at Nova was the beginnings of a system to automatically repair the command and communications antenna. The system would without a doubt revolutionize Nova’s satellite, except for the few key features Nova couldn’t figure out for the life of him.

Common sense said that it would be best to simply wait until Tuesday to address such things, but Nova’s desire to perfect his satellite as soon as possible screamed otherwise.

Perhaps it wasn’t too late to call J to request an extra meeting sometime sooner. At the very least, Nova could leave his blueprints with J so that he was well acquainted with them by Tuesday.

Nova grabbed his phone to check the time just as the first few rays of sun peeked through the window.

The phone revealed the time to be 6:16am.

...Not again.

A second glance at the phone also revealed an unread message from J, sent at 9:07pm.

Nova opened the message in a heartbeat, sitting forward as he scanned the screen, taking a moment to make sense of the words.

**Please call next time you’re free**

Nova tilted his head at the message, not even bothering to consider the current time before typing out his response. Or, well, attempting to at least. His fingers shook as he poked at the screen, forcing him to backspace every so often. After about a minute of tapping, he finally managed to send a somewhat coherent message through.

**I’m available as of current. We can call wgenever you’re awake.**

***whenevet**

****Whenever.**

Nova barely had time to groan at the typo before his ringtone blared throughout the apartment.

He answered the call in record time, turning it on speaker and setting the phone on the coffee table.

“That was quick.”

Nova cringed inwardly the moment the words left his mouth. His voice felt like sandpaper in his throat, and his words came out far too croaky for his liking.

“Nova,” J said, sounding awake as ever, “what the hell are you doing up this early?”

“Good question.” Nova took the next moment to clear his throat before continuing. “I could ask the same of you.”

Some chattering could be heard in the background as J spoke. “I asked you first.”

“Fair.” Nova leaned back into the couch cushions, crossing one leg over the other as he looked up to his ceiling. “I was reading through the books you gifted to me-”

“Oh! What’d you of think of them?”

“I’ve only gotten through two, but they were splendid reads.” Nova sat back up to glance over the blueprints on his coffee table. “They were both thought provoking and educational, so much so that they gave me the ideas necessary to design an entirely new system for the satellite overnight.”

“...Overnight?” J muttered. The chattering in the background shifted into some sort of harmony, causing J to raise his voice to speak over it. “Nova, do you _ever_ take a break from work?”

“Not really, no.”

“Maybe you should get some sleep before we talk about-”

“That’s not important,” Nova interjected, “what is important are the new blueprints I’ve drawn up. I can’t figure out what, but the designs are missing something.” He began gathering the best blueprints he’d drawn up thus far. “We don’t need to talk about them immediately, but I’d like for you to have time to become acquainted with the new designs before Tuesday. Is there a way I could leave them with you sometime later?”

“...Yeah, actually. We’re heading out to Festival Plaza right now to film that commercial I mentioned yesterday.” One of the boys began yelling in the background, only to be cut off by a dull metal clang. “I can send you the location of the set if you want.”

“That sounds good. I’ll meet you at the Festival Plaza.”

“Great. I’ll talk to you soon-”

“Wait a moment.” Nova sat upright in a flash. “I can’t believe I forgot to ask. Why did you ask for me to call earlier?”

J stayed silent for just a moment before responding. “It’ll be easier to discuss in person, actually.”

“I see.”

“Anyways, see you at Festival Plaza!”

J ended the call before Nova had a chance to respond.

Nova collected his phone as he stood up from his couch. The dim slivers of sunshine in the penthouse smeared across his vision at the sudden movement, and his hand shook slightly as he held his phone.

Wait, no, that was simply a text notification.

Nova sighed. If he had any plans on arriving in Festival Plaza awake, he’d need more coffee.

* * *

Nova hardly remembered the bus ride to Festival Plaza once he’d arrived.

He could hardly recall grabbing his briefcase and leaving the penthouse, and he remembered even less about his walk through Festival Plaza.

The only reason Nova snapped out of his haze was the chattering coming from the group of people gathered around a large fountain.

Nova glanced at the directions on his phone before inspecting the small crowd. Supposedly, this was where J’s boys would be filming…

A glimpse of neon green and yellow hair confirmed this fact.

Nova wasted no time in approaching, and as he drew closer to the crowd, everything became slightly clearer. Filming equipment was being inspected at every turn, and the majority of the group seemed to consist of crew members and the occasional security guard, despite the current lack of bystanders. Nova could barely spot chairs toward the middle of it all, where J and the boys all sat.

Before Nova could make out whatever they were doing, Haym glanced up and locked his eyes onto Nova before sitting up and waving Nova over with a grin.

“Hey DJ!”

“Good morning, Haym!” Nova called back, picking up the pace only to be stopped by a security guard stepping in front of him.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to step away from the set,” he said, “we’ll be done filming in about an hour and a half, but until then, we’re only allowing actors and-”

“Let him through,” J called out, “we have business.”

The man paused, glancing between J and Nova before stepping aside.

Nova simply nodded as he walked past the security guard and toward J and the boys.

Each boy was busy with his own activity, save for Zimelu, who lay back in his chair with a throw blanket across his lap. Meanwhile, Purl-Hew waved briefly at Nova before returning to tapping away at his laptop with his headphones on. Rin glanced up from his phone for only a moment, just long enough to narrow his eyes at Nova before getting elbowed by Haym. Lastly, Eloni sat swinging his legs back and forth in his chair, barely holding back a smile as he read over a paper.

Was that..?

Nova turned his gaze away from Eloni before he began thinking too hard.

Something else that was noticeable was that instead of wearing their usual uniforms, all of the boys wore outfits far too warm for the late summer. The clothes had all been carefully tailored to fit each android, and each outfit had a specific theme to go with it. Were Nova less sleep deprived, he might have actually been able to tell what each style was attempting.

“Nova, come sit down,” J said. His monitor was pointed just past Nova’s shoulder as he spoke.

Nova tilted his head as he stood next to J’s chair. “There aren’t any free seats.”

J paused, only to bring a hang to his hand. “Goddamnit.” He turned in Nova’s exact direction as his radar pinged. “I’m sorry, I must have forgotten to ask for an extra chair when we got here. Things were kind of hectic when we arrived-”

“No you didn’t,” Rin muttered, attempting to subtly glance up from his phone to stare at Nova.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure the first thing you did after saying hi was ask for an extra chair,” Haym added on.

“...I see,” J muttered, placing his hands in his lap. “Well, I’m sure filming will start soon. You can either wait until then for a seat to free up, or I could go bug them for another chair.”

Nova nodded, ignoring the building lightheadedness. “I’m perfectly fine waiting,” he said, setting his briefcase beside J’s chair. “Anyway, I’m curious. What’s this commercial supposed to be promoting?”

“It’s for this autumn line from some clothes place bordering Natura,” Haym shrugged.

Eloni glanced up from his paper to chime in, smiling as he spoke. “They said they can keep all the outfits we film in, so that’s neat.”

“Yeah… I’m not doing that,” Haym grumbled.

Rin flicked Haym in the shoulder as J let out an exhausted sigh.

“Haym,” J muttered, “we already talked about this.”

Haym frowned as he tugged on his overly fluffy scarf. “But they made me look like a dork-”

“Calm down. I’m sure you look fine,” J sighed.

“Pops, if you still had eyes and tear ducts, you’d cry if you saw what they put me in.” Haym paused to look at himself and grimace. “I’m gonna be honest, if I had tear ducts, _I’d_ be crying right now.”

“What on earth’s wrong with the outfit?” Nova asked, “it seems perfectly average to me.”

Rin’s eyes went wide with dread as Haym sat at attention.

“Well DJ, lemme start with the basics.”

Rin’s head snapped in Haym’s direction. “Haym, no-”

Haym jumped to his feet, raising his leg and pointing at his pants. “See this? Plain skinny jeans.” He stood normally once more, placing his hands on his hips as he frowned. “Now, if you can pair that with something _interesting_ , it’s fine, but all they gave me was a solid colored sweater and a scarf. If I didn’t have a signature hairstyle, they would’ve probably given me a beanie, too.”

Nova tilted his head. “And why’s that an issue?”

“It’s missing _flair_ ~!” Haym somehow whined in autotune, “they did what every other clothing company we’ve worked with does. They ran out of ideas and gave me the boring, ‘innocent’ outfit that takes zero risks and has about as much color as pavement.”

Zimelu finally lifted his head. The lights in his eyes flickered as he blinked rapidly, only to stop as he turned to Haym. “Hey, at least you didn’t get something leather for the umpteenth time in a row,” he muttered, pointing to the studded leather jacket he wore.

Haym crossed his arms as he slumped in his seat. “Dude, I’d kill to get to wear something even slightly interesting.”

“I mean, it’s okay at best,” Zimelu muttered, folding the throw blanket on his lap. “I’m gonna be honest, I’d take the scarf over another leather jacket any day. It looks way comfier.”

Haym paused, narrowing his eyes at Zimelu’s jacket before speaking up. “Okay, idea,” he said, tilting his head. “Why don’t we just trade outfits after this?”

“Heck yeah.”

As Haym ran over to his brother to give him a fist bump, J sat up with a mechanical whirr, catching Nova’s attention.

“Anyways, blueprints!” J said, clasping his hands together. “You brought them, correct?”

“Oh, yes.” Nova grabbed his briefcase and set it in Haym’s now-empty seat, earning a look from Rin that ranged somewhere between slight judgement and moderate annoyance. He grabbed his blueprints out of the briefcase and handed them over to J, closing the briefcase with his free hand. “We really don’t need to talk about them today, so just call if there’s any major questions before Tues-”

A man cleared his throat, cutting off Nova.

Nova, J, and the boys all turned their heads. Before them stood a well dressed middle aged man holding a clipboard.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he said, “but we need Red and Green for filming.”

Eloni glanced up from his paper once more as Zimelu visibly tensed.

J’s hands curled into fists in his lap as he tilted his head. “You mean Zimelu and Eloni?”

The man nodded. “Yeah, the red and green ones.”

“My troops have names,” J replied, “use them.”

“Okay, sure.” The man turned on his heel and walked toward the fountain, making a motion for the boys to follow him as he walked.

Zimelu stood up and looked to Eloni. “You coming?”

“Just a second,” Eloni muttered, folding the paper in his hand carefully as he rose to his feet.

“Hey, come on! We need to start filming!” someone near the fountain shouted, “we’ve got eleven locations we need to hit today!”

Eloni winced, placing the folded paper on his seat before hurrying forward with Zimelu in tow. 

Just as they fell out of earshot, J spoke up.

“My god,” he hissed, sinking back into his chair. “I’ve already fucking told them each of my boys’ names. I’ve told them every time they’ve called, every time I’ve had to sign something, and I even introduced each of them to the crew when we arrived. How the hell is it _that_ hard to remember a few names?”

“Good question,” Nova muttered, “it really shouldn’t take this long to commit it to memory.”

J sighed. “Seriously. Even _you_ caught on faster than this crew has.”

Before Nova could answer, J continued. “Anyway,” he said, lowering his voice, “Eloni’s off filming now, correct?”

At that, Rin looked up from his phone and Haym stopped chattering. Even Purl-Hew subtly moved one headphone off of his ear.

“Indeed,” Nova said, “He and Zimelu both.”

J nodded. “You should take a seat, then.”

“Again, I’m perfectly fine with standing up.”

“Nova, I don’t know if you know this, but you sound like you’re about to pass out. Please sit down.”

What? He sounded perfectly fine.

Though, he supposed there was no harm in taking a seat.

“Alright,” Nova sighed. He moved the briefcase off of the chair and onto the ground before sitting down.

“Thank you.” J shifted in his seat so he was better facing Nova. “Anyway, this is about why I asked you to call last night.”

Nova leaned forward. “What is it?”

J chuckled, clasping his hands together. “You won’t believe this after what I told you Tuesday,” he said, “but Eloni got a fan letter just last night.”

Nova froze as his heart skipped a beat. “Oh?”

“I know it’s probably not the topic you were expecting,” J said, tapping his finger against his knee, “but I thought you might find it... Interesting.”

“I do,” Nova replied, glancing at the paper on Eloni’s seat. “Find it interesting, that is.” He let out a breath as he leaned back in his seat. “Really, what a coincidence.”

J nodded. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I thought.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that the boy finally got some of the appreciation he deserved,” Nova muttered, quickly turning back to J as Rin began staring. “Anyway, I’m curious. How did he react to the letter?”

“Oh, he was thrilled!” J laughed. “He still is, in fact. The author was very kind to him.” J paused, tilting his head. “It’s a shame they chose to remain anonymous.”

“Indeed. It’s quite odd that they’d choose such a route,” Nova muttered, attempting to keep his words from catching in his throat.

J shrugged. “I mean, anonymity isn’t completely out of the norm, and I’m sure the author of the letter had their own reasons to stay unknown. In the end, the only things we’ll ever really know about the author are their kind words and nice handwriting, and I’m sure that was intentional.” He leaned forward, his monitor pointed directly at Nova. “Whoever the author was, though, I hope they know they’re very much appreciated.”

Nova leaned backward in his seat, away from J. His own heartbeat rang through his head as he attempted to formulate a response, but a metallic clang next to the fountain beat him to the punch.

“For the last time, we have _names_!” Zimelu shouted, his voice crackling, “not Red and Green, not units 02 and 04, they’re Zimelu and Eloni! I _know_ you know this, so why do you all keep treating us like we can’t hear you?! We’re not just robots!”

By the time Zimelu’s voice was drowned out by more shouting, J was already on his feet. “I’ll be right back,” he hissed, marching off toward the fountain with his hands curled into tight fists and his radar pinging rapidly.

Nova only managed to nod as J vanished into the crowd. Meanwhile, the androids sat at attention, staring at the spot where their father had exited their field of view.

After twenty seconds and no break in the crowd, Rin, Haym, and Purl-Hew all turned to Nova.

Rin was the first on his feet, but Haym was the first to speak.

“So, I’m gonna ignore whatever’s going on over there for now,” he said, wiggling around in his chair until he was sitting upside down. “Instead, I wanna know why you’re being so weird about your letter to Eloni.”

“Excuse me?” Nova asked, nearly choking on his own words. 

“You don’t need to play dumb, Mr. Nova. We already figured it out,” Purl-Hew chuckled. He pulled his notebook from his backpack and pointed to the page where Nova had written his assignment yesterday. “We compared your handwriting last night and it matches perfectly with the letter.”

Nova sighed. He should have seen this coming.

“How many of you know so far?” he asked, bringing a hand to his head.

“Just us three,” Haym responded.

“...So Eloni doesn’t know?”

Purl-Hew shook his head. “Nope.” 

Rin stepped forward, placing his hands on his hips as he narrowed his eyes at Nova. “Why’s it matter so much to you whether Eloni knows or not?”

Haym rolled his eyes. “Rin, oh my god. Don’t start.”

Rin pointedly ignored Haym, simply staring at Nova as he awaited a response.

Nova crossed his arms. “If I wanted Eloni to know I wrote the letter, I would have signed it. It’s that simple.”

“Told you so,” Purl-Hew muttered, looking to Rin.

Rin once again ignored his brother as his expression fell to pure confusion. “Wait... Why wouldn’t you want Eloni to know you wrote the letter?” he asked. He sounded genuinely curious, rather than interrogative.

Nova was once again interrupted before he was forced to come up with a reply, this time by three pairs of metal footsteps stomping against the pavement. A glance upward revealed J marching forward with Zimelu and Eloni in tow. Eloni kept his eyes on the ground while Zimelu kept close to his father, his face vacant of emotion.

“Boys, pack your shit,” J called out, stopping in front of the chairs, “we’re going home.”

Purl-Hew and Haym exchanged a look between themselves before doing as told, and Eloni and Zimelu both shuffled away from J as they did the same. Rin was the only one who stood still, staring at J as he tilted his head.

“We’re going home? Already?”

“Affirmative.”

“What about the commercial?”

“The filming crew is physically unable to treat your brothers with basic respect, so I see no reason to honor our agreement to film.” J folded his arms behind his back and stood far too straight, even for him. “Please gather your belongings.”

Rin blinked, saluting J. “Yes, sir,” he muttered, turning around and hurrying to his chair.

J’s radar pinged once before he deflated, his shoulders slumping forward as he walked to his own chair.

“J?”

J ignored the question, instead gathering the blueprints from his chair and placing them in a pocket inside his coat. “I’m gonna call the limo to take us back. You should come with us,” he muttered, “we have to pass through Cast Tech anyway, and it’ll get you home faster than walking.”

Nova nodded. “Thank you for the offer.”

J tilted his head. “...But?”

“No, no. I’m accepting, for once,” Nova said, standing up and grabbing his briefcase. “Now, is there any way I can help you get out of here?”

J shrugged, pulling his phone from his pocket. “One second,” he said, turning to the boys. They stood in a close circle with their backpacks on, talking in hushed voices. Most of the attention was directed toward Eloni and Zimelu, who both shifted uncomfortably as they avoided eye contact with their brothers.

“Boys! Do you have your things?”

Most of the boys nodded, with only Rin saluting J.

“Yes, sir!”

“Good,” J muttered, tapping at his phone in a practiced motion. “Nova, would you please lead us to the street?”

“Absolutely.”

J’s shoulders relaxed as he nodded, raising his phone to his monitor and beginning to talk into the speaker.

Nova led the way to the road, with J and the boys following. The only noise that Nova could make out was the clanging of metal against pavement and the hushed conversations being held behind him. It was still too early for most to be out and the street was relatively empty, with the sun only barely growing visible over the buildings.

When they finally reached the curb, Nova leaned against the raised planters. Meanwhile, J moved up to Nova’s side as he pocketed the phone.

“The limo should be here in a few minutes.”

Nova nodded just as Eloni spoke up.

“Hey, Dad?”

J turned to his son immediately. “Yes?”

Eloni shifted in his spot. “We don’t have to do rehearsals when we get home, right?”

That seemed to catch the attention of the rest of the boys, with the other conversations growing silent as they looked between Eloni and J.

“I didn’t plan for it,” J said, “so no.”

Rin stood up straight as he looked to J. “Could we have a movie day since we’re not busy, then?”

J slowly relaxed further, shrugging to Haym. “Sure, I don’t see why not.”

The boys brightened up, with Haym and Purl-Hew both grinning and chattering between themselves, while Rin and Eloni both allowed themselves small smiles. Only Zimelu stayed tense, furrowing his brow to himself until he was slapped on the back by Haym.

“Hey, wanna trade the scarf and jacket while we’re standing around?” Haym asked, “I wanna look cool _now_.”

“Oh, yeah, sure.” Zimelu rolled his eyes, relaxing as he shrugged off his jakcet. “Good luck looking cool.”

Haym threw the scarf at Zimelu’s head as he snatched the jacket away. “I don’t need luck, I’m too hot for that,” he said, making a face at Zimelu as he put on the jacket and posed. “See?”

“You still look like a dork,” Zimelu snickered.

Haym frowned, shoving his hands into the jacket pockets. “I just need clothes that match the jacket better,” he grumbled.

“You can have the rest of this outfit when we get home,” Zimelu said, throwing the scarf around his shoulder.

“Nah, I was only in it for the jacket. I really don’t want anything else here.”

J tilted his head. “Then what _do_ you want?”

Haym shrugged. “I dunno! I want something weird to go along with the spikes, like pants with eyes embroidered into them.” He looked over his sweater with a frown. “Too bad nobody sells robot-sized eye-pants.”

“To be quite frank, I doubt there’s many who sell the clothing you desire for _human_ proportions,” Nova said, “if you’re desperate for pants with eyes on them, you may want to look into learning to sew.”

Haym froze, staying dead still for fifteen seconds before turning to J. “Hey, Pops, can we stop by a fabric store on the way home?”

Rin was by Haym’s side in a flash. “If you learn to sew, can you make me a suit?”

“Ooh, I want a cloak,” Purl-Hew chimed in.

Nova tuned out the conversation as Eloni threw in his own request, and the chatter from the boys quickly became an oddly calming white noise, and the last moment Nova remembered from that morning was a bout of laughter from the boys just as the sun finally made its way over the buildings. 

Despite his vision blurring and his hearing fading as the hours of lost sleep finally caught up to him, Nova found himself wishing that the moment would last just a second longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the entertainment industry is stressful and hard :(
> 
> I know this chapter has more sad stuff in it than usual but i promise its got its place!!! We'll get there!!!! You'll see!!! There's a plot somewhere in there I promise!!!!!
> 
> in other news i am WAITING for winter break rn because we're in for some Very Fun Chapters (some of my favorites in the outline) soon and theyre all gonna fall over winter break so.... EEEEEE


	9. Small Acts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I have made a grave error!! :D
> 
> When I first started writing this fic, the official height chart hadn’t come out yet, and while I knew full well that J was taller… I kinda chose to ignore it because at that point in time, height was still a social construct in NSR. When the height chart came out though, it really solidified the fact that Robograndpa and his sons are Tall™ and I was Wrong™. I planned on editing this in, but then forgot to do anything about it until I saw a meme lmao
> 
> So, today, I have an Extremely Important Announcement. In this fic, from here on out, DJSS has officially been banished to short (yaknow. Like 6ft tall short.) and J is a Tall Bitch, as he should be!! (interestingly enough tho, The Bois are still shorter than DJSS according to the height chart, so yea)
> 
> The only actual change I made was a minor edit to chapter two, which was the only place this came up iirc. I wanted to let y’all know in case anyone noticed an inconsistency upon going back or while reading future chapters, because this will likely come up later ;)

Nova’s return to the realm of conscious existence had proven itself a questionable decision at best.

Only moments after waking from his slumber, Nova had managed to force himself into a sitting position as his vision slowly focused on the world around him. The first moment he moved, a dull ache spread throughout his back and shoulders, and a crick in his neck had revealed itself as he scanned his surroundings.

Nova sat upon the couch in the front room of his penthouse, completely alone and in relative darkness. The curtains had been drawn shut, and his briefcase had been set on the coffee table in front of him.

Brief snippets of memories shoved themselves to the forefront of Nova’s mind as he rolled his shoulders. He clearly remembered stepping out of the limo and later unlocking his front door. There was also a vague sense of some sort of conversation with J in the elevator.

Beyond that, there was nothing to connect the events from Nova’s time in the Festival Plaza to the present moment.

Nova didn’t bother questioning it for the time being, instead taking to his feet as stars and static danced across his view. He put all of his efforts into keeping his balance, holding on to the side of the couch as the spots and the pounding feeling in his head subsided. After ten seconds - he'd counted - Nova straightened his back and shuffled to the window.

After reaching the window and throwing the curtains open, nearly blinding himself with the sunlight, Nova couldn’t help but wonder how and when they'd been closed in the first place. He had no recollection of closing them the night before, and he was near certain he’d left them open before he left in the morning.

Speaking of the morning, how long had it been since then?

Nova leaned against the windowsill, staring out at the sky as he dug through his pocket for his phone. The sun sat lower in the sky than usual, though it hadn’t begun to set just yet.

Finally making contact with his phone, Nova pulled it close and turned it on. He was immediately met with the time, 4:03pm, and three notifications. One was a simple weather alert, another was a message from J, and the final notification was an email from Tatiana.

Normally, the email would have been nothing out of the ordinary, but Tatiana’s emails had grown to be few and far between in the past two months. Supposedly, she’d been preoccupied with a complete overhaul of NSR’s innerworkings, though Nova couldn’t know for sure with the lack of communication.

However, since he’d received an email, the most logical course of action would of course be to respond to Tatiana as soon as physically possible. After that, Nova could get back to J and go about using the rest of his waking hours wisely.

And yet, Nova found himself eyeing J’s message.

Now, by no means was Nova planning to ignore Tatiana, rather, the issue was that he’d only woken up moments ago. Surely Tatiana, the CEO of NSR and the overseer of Vinyl City, would have little to no interest in her employee reading important work documents while he was still barely coherent.

Meanwhile, If Nova spoke with J first, he’d have ample time to wake up, brew some coffee, and get his day - well, evening - in order.

Not to mention, it would be good to check in on J and the boys after such a rough morning.

With his mind made up, Nova finally opened J’s text and read it over.

**Looks like we’ll have to reschedule Tuesday. Call me when you’re awake**

How odd. What on earth could have come up?

Nova simply shrugged to himself as he pressed the call button and held the phone close. Whatever it was, he supposed it was all the more reason to get back to J sooner rather than later.

Nova stared out the window, studying the skyscrapers in front of him as the phone rang.

And continued to ring.

Until finally, the moment before Nova was redirected to voicemail, J picked up.

“Nova!” J began, a faint noise humming in the background as he spoke, “welcome back to the land of the living.”

“Thank you.” Nova tilted his head. “Though, I must ask, how in the world did you know I was the one who called?”

“Personalized ringtones. Makes things easier,” J replied, the sound of metal against wood coming through the speakers. “Anyway, how’re you?”

“In a word, disoriented.” Nova stretched his neck as he turned his back on the window. “Aside from that, however, all is perfectly average. How are you and the boys?”

There was slight hesitation on J’s end before he responded. “Zimelu and Eloni are still pretty out of it, but Eloni’s doing better,” he muttered, “Purl-Hew’s been working on music on and off all day, but right now I think he’s watching a movie with Rin and Eloni. As for Haym-”

There was a yell in the distance.

J raised his voice just slightly as he spoke. “Haym’s been leaving a deathtrap of loose fabric in his wake. He also says hi.”

“I see. Please let him know I say the same.” Nova began his trek to the kitchen, opening more curtains in the front room on his way there. “In other news, you asked me to call so we could reschedule Tuesday, correct?”

“Affirmative!” J said, “I had to adjust rehearsal times due to the meeting Tuesday. I know Tatiana said it should only last two hours, but I’m sure it’ll end up going over-”

“I’m sorry”-Nova halted in the doorframe of the kitchen-“meeting?”

“Yes, meeting. Tatiana just scheduled one for the District charters earlier today.” The ping of J’s radar came through the speaker, along with the sound of footsteps. “You got the email, didn’t you?”

“Oh.” Nova continued into the kitchen, noting that no curtains had been drawn in here. “I received the email, yes. I just haven’t had the chance to read it yet.” He tapped the power button on his espresso machine. “I was going to wait until I had some coffee brewing before I-”

“Nova, oh my god.” J let out a sigh as metal clanged against something else. “Do you fuck up your own sleep schedule for fun? Is that why you’re setting yourself up for _another_ all-nighter?”

“Of course not.” Nova leaned against the kitchen counter with a huff. “It’s just that there’s no chance I'll be falling asleep again anytime soon, so I might as well spend the night on the work I’ve neglected in the last 24 hours.”

“...Alright, fair point,” J muttered, “but is the coffee really necessary?”

“Coffee is always necessary.”

“Oh, really? I’d like some actual evidence for that.”

“Let me offer you a recent example.” Nova pushed himself off the counter and turned to his cabinets. “If I had skipped a cup of coffee just this morning, I would have never made it to Festival Plaza awake. You would have never gotten the blueprints, and I would have woken up on the other side of Vinyl City hours later, when the bus driver finally kicked me off.”

“Nova, less than an hour after you got to the Plaza, you passed out on the curb,” J replied, “If coffee was the miracle drink you thought it was, then I wouldn’t have had to haul your comatose ass into the limo.”

The moment Nova had processed J’s words, he froze. “Excuse me, _what_?” His shoulders curled inward as he slowly shut his cabinet door. “J, allow me to offer my sincerest apologies-”

“Hey, calm down, soldier. It’s not like I’m upset,” J said, throwing in a small laugh for levity. “I’m just trying to get you to acknowledge the side effects of a god-awful sleep schedule.”

“...I suppose I can see your point.”

“Thank god.”

“Don’t get too excited,” Nova grumbled, “I’m only going to avoid caffeine until I’m not sleeping through the day.”

J let out a snicker. “That’s better than nothing!”

“Sure.”

Nova turned off his espresso maker with a sigh before returning his attention to the phone. “Anyway, let’s get back to why this call was made in the first place,” he said, walking into his front room once more. “When’s a different time we can meet?”

“Monday and Wednesday afternoon both work for me.”

Nova tilted his head as he grabbed his laptop from under the coffee table. “I have work to catch up on before the meeting, so let’s do Wednesday.”

“Perfect!” The sound of a couple of the boys chattering came though the speaker. “See you at the meeting, then.”

“Indeed,” Nova said, sitting in his chair by the window, “you and the boys have a good evening."

There was a slight pause before J responded.

“You too.”

J was the one to end the call.

Nova opened up his laptop as he pocketed his phone. He minimized his music software as he pulled up Tatiana's email, skimming it over.

Apparently, the main purpose of the meeting would be to establish some proper changes to each of the Districts. There were mentions of taking the complaints of the citizens into account, as well as making the environment of each District less hostile to indie artists of any sort. It was about what Nova could have expected of the first meeting since the Rock Revolution.

Nova closed the email before reading over Tatiana’s ending paragraph. It was always the same, so there was no use in wasting time on it.

Instead, he began scrolling through the rest of his work email as he settled in for the night.

...The night which, by the looks of it, would likely consist of nothing but going through Cast Tech’s district affairs until the early hours of the morning.

Well, Nova supposed that was what he should have expected after procrastinating for the past 24 hours.

At least Nova could have his music to look forward to once the real work was done.

Though, the real work couldn’t be completed until Nova stopped stalling.

With a sigh, Nova clicked on the first of many emails complaining about _something_ and began reading through.

* * *

As the elevator swiftly approached the top of the NSR Tower, Nova stared out at Vinyl City as his own music played through his headphones.

The days leading up to the meeting had been relatively quiet.

Nova had been left alone and given the time to finally sort through all of the paperwork he’d been putting off, which while horrendously tedious, was a necessary evil. At the very least, by the time he could barely recognize his own signature, Nova could fall back on his music to cut through the monotony of it all.

And cut through the monotony it had, as Nova had noticed something.

His music had changed.

Now, the changes were by no means glaring, but Nova’s trained ear had picked up on the abnormalities.

Long ago, back before NSR, Nova had always created music with a sense of distance. His music was written for the express purpose of capturing something greater than himself, and it had always sounded as such. With vast, sweeping notes and intricate melodies defining his music, allowing the listener a brief glimpse of the ideas of what lie beyond Earth.

Nova’s music had sounded like this for ages, and yet, many of his works made after the Rock Revolution were different.

They didn’t abandon the principals of Nova’s music by any means, rather, they had shifted them ever so slightly. While encapsulating the furthest corners of the known universe, Nova’s latest tracks had made these points of space feel closer than ever. The songs were no longer snapshots, made to be experienced with the knowledge that the listener was an outside force looking in. Now, Nova’s music offered to bring the listener along on the journey through sound, as though the listener had been there since the beginning.

It was odd, to say the least.

Though, the strangest part of it all was that Nova saw no reason in stamping out the anomaly. His audience hadn’t yet commented on the slight shift in style, and he’d actually found himself enjoying the minute details, which all came together to capture his visions even better than his older works.

In fact, the song that currently played in his headphones was one of his most recent compositions. He listened not because it was incomplete or in need of revision, but because he genuinely enjoyed the atmosphere he’d created with the melody, which paired perfectly with his current view of Vinyl City.

Isolated and breathtaking.

Just as the song ended, the elevator came to a halt with a soft tone.

Nova managed to turn around just as the doors slid open, with the faint sounds of lively conversation carrying over as he stepped into the hallway. Many voices were ones he hadn’t heard in weeks, and he hadn’t seen the decor lining the hallway for a far longer time. Despite Nova’s time away, everything about the interior of the NSR Tower was still so familiar.

And yet, it felt almost strange to be back.

As he turned the corner, Nova was finally met with the open door to the meeting room all the noise came from. He took a moment to brace himself before stepping inside.

Upon entering the meeting room, the cacophony of far too many conversations hit Nova like a brick. In a vain attempt to tune it all out, Nova forced himself to focus on the sight in front of him.

It seemed that Nova had been the last charter to arrive, which was by no means surprising considering the distance between Cast Tech and the NSR Tower. Many of the charters, plus Tatiana, were already conversing with one another, though a few distinct groups had formed.

The most apparent group stood by the head of the table. As Tatiana, Mrs. Natura, and J conversed with one another, Rin stood near his father as he spoke to Yinu. He nodded along to whatever Yinu had to say, offering her a genuine smile as he occasionally said his piece. Just next to the main conversation, Eve and Haym seemed to be deep in a discussion about the pair of shoddily sewn pants in Eve’s hands. Despite messing with his leather jacket at every opportunity, Haym seemed to be attentive to whatever Eve had to say.

Purl-Hew, Eloni, and the Sayu Crew had already sat down at the table. Eloni and the Sayu Crew all seemed involved in an animated discussion over something, while Purl-Hew was completely engrossed in his laptop, bobbing his head along to a tune playing through his headphones.

It took a fair bit of scanning the room before Nova found Zimelu, who sat alone by the window as he stared out at the city.

Finally, just as Nova took in a breath and prepared to walk to the table, Tatiana’s voice cut through the sound.

“Ah, DJ Subatomic Supernova,” she said, her lips curled into the faintest of smiles, “I’m glad to see you’ve finally arrived.”

Nova simply nodded in response. “Good afternoon, Tatiana.”

Immediately, his words garnered the attention of Tatiana’s group. Yinu and her mother both waved while Rin tensed up and froze. J snapped to attention with the ping of his radar before turning his monitor to Nova.

Tatiana motioned Nova forward as she took a step back to make room in the circle that had formed. “So, how have you been these past couple months?”

Nova quickly glanced to the table before stepping forward. “Fine,” he muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets, “how about all of you?”

Tatiana raised both of her eyebrows at Nova and opened her mouth, only for Yinu to speak up first.

“I turned ten last week,” she beamed, spinning around to face Nova. “So, on my birthday, Mama got this for me!” She pointed to an ornate gold and ruby hairpin depicting a music staff and notes. “Isn’t it pretty?”

Turning away from Tatiana, Nova took a moment to study the hairpin before nodding. “Ah, yes,” he muttered, “very.”

“Sounds like you had a good birthday,” Rin chuckled, smiling at Yinu as he pointedly ignored the DJ.

“It was!” Yinu said, turning back to Rin as she adjusted the hairpin. “First I got the hairpin, and then Mama let me help make the cake. Then, we got to eat it outside, ‘cause everything tastes better outside.”

“What kind of cake did you have?” Rin asked, assuming a relaxed posture once more.

“Chocolate orange.” She turned her back on Nova and hurried back over to Rin. “We made little flowers out of the orange peels and stuck ‘em on top.”

“I haven’t heard of orange peel flowers before.” Rin tilted his head. “Do they taste good with the cake?”

“What?” Yinu wrinkled her nose at Rin. “You don’t eat the orange peels. That’d be gross.”

Rin blinked as his smile faltered and shifted into confusion, but before he could respond to Yinu, a crash sounded from the hallway.

All conversation halted, and though everyone in the room - minus J and Zimelu - turned to the door, Tatiana was the only one to make any move.

“Ah, there they are,” she muttered, breaking away from the conversation and stepping just outside the room.

Who on earth were _they_?

Nova scanned the room as Tatiana waved whoever _they_ were down. Every NSRtist was already present and accounted for, and there had been no Lights Up Auditions for a time, so it was certainly no soon-to-be charter…

Nova’s questioning was cut short as a shrill voice rang throughout the room.

“Heya, everybody!”

The Plutonian girl stood in the doorway with a slightly sheepish grin, while her partner stood just behind her, carrying a projector under his arm. They both radiated nervous energy, though they both smiled through it.

Hadn’t they turned down Tatiana’s offer at the Grand Qwaza? What were they doing here?

And why was no one else fazed by their arrival?

“Hello, you two,” Tatiana said, ushering them into the room.

“Sorry we’re a bit late,” the boy muttered, stepping inside with his partner, “we were busy searching the hideout for Ellie.”

“It turns out she was waiting for us in the helicopter the whole time,” the girl added on.

“I see.” Tatiana shut the door before turning back to the young adults. “Who is Ellie, again?”

“Oh, uh, she’s our pet alligator,” the boy shrugged, moving to the front of the table to set up the projector.

Recognition fluttered across Tatiana’s face as she nodded. “Ah. The alligator.”

“The Elliegator!”

As the girl began to ramble about her pet, there was a tap on Nova’s shoulder.

“I think this is our cue to sit down,” J said, his radar pinging before he motioned to the table, where Rin, Yinu, and Mrs. Natura had already taken a seat.

Nova nodded, lowering his voice as he walked toward the table with J. “Do you have any idea what the Plutonians are doing here?”

J tilted his head in response, grabbing the first chair he came across and sitting down. “Why’re you asking me?”

“Well, you’re far closer to Tatiana than I ever have been,” Nova said, taking a seat next to J. “I thought you may know.”

“Nova,” J sighed, placing his elbows on the table as he turned to the DJ, “this was explained in the email.”

What.

“Where? I didn’t see _this_ ,” Nova muttered, motioning to the projection, “mentioned anywhere.”

J leaned closer to Nova as he tilted his head even farther to the side. “How did you not see it?”

Nova shrugged, leaning back in his chair. “Perhaps it had something to do with the caffeine withdrawal I was suffering.”

J sighed, bringing a hand to his monitor. “My god. You’re an addict.”

“I never would have known.”

J made an eye roll motion before crossing his arms. “ _Anyway_ , Tatiana talked about the rock kids’ guest appearance right at the end of her email.”

Nova froze. “Was it after the usual closing paragraph?”

“Affirmative.”

Well, that explained it.

“Moving on from that,” J continued, “they’re here to tell us about the complaints from the actual citizens of each District, so we can actually prioritize the needs of the people of Vinyl City.”

“So, put simply, they're acting as an outsider’s perspective?”

“Pretty much.”

At that, the projector started up. It displayed a title card which, aside from a doodle of Vinyl City’s skyline in the corner, was horribly plain. It read:

**May and Zuke’s Vinyl City Research!!**

Nova took a deep breath as he stared at the projection.

After his years working for the University, he’d grown a keen sense for when a presentation was... Lacking. But this?

 _This_ would be physically painful.

Tatiana stood at the head of the table, managing to keep her expression completely neutral as she looked over the projection. “I take it this is how you’ll be presenting your findings?”

The girl, Mayday, nodded. “Yup!”

“We compiled our notes into some easy to read graphs,” Zuke added on, still fussing over the projector. “We only had a few hours though, so it’s probably not gonna be the prettiest.”

“But it exists, and it’s functional,” Mayday said, “and that’s what matters.”

J poked Nova in the shoulder once more. “What’re they talking about?”

“They built a... Presentation,” Nova muttered, “if you can even call it that.”

J nodded, grabbing his phone and wire from his pocket as Tatiana cleared her throat.

“Now that everyone is present,” she said, “I’d like to thank you all for coming. I know it’s been some time since last we met, and for that I must-”

Tatiana paused, narrowing her eyes as she scanned over the table. After about five seconds, she looked away from the table and to the window.

“Zimelu.”

Immediately, the android in question spun around and stood at attention. He opened his mouth to speak, only to close it again as he took notice of Mayday, who whisper-shouted nonsense to her bandmade as she made the occasional gesture toward Zimelu.

With a frown, Zimelu tilted his head to the ground and hurried to the table. He opted to take the long route to the nearest chair, avoiding passing by Mayday and Zuke in the process.

As Zimelu took a seat, Tatiana offered him a curt nod. “Thank you,” she said, folding her arms behind her back before speaking again. “As I was saying, I’d like to offer an apology for the lack of communication as of late. All resources, including my time and energy, have been going into the reformation of NSR.” She allowed herself a small, yet proud smile. “However, NSR has finally moved past the first stages of rebuilding. Because of this, I intend to resume our schedule of monthly meetings, so that we may have time to give proper focus to each of the Districts.”

Mayday and Zuke, who stood by the projection, both perked up.

“As you already know, the main purpose of this meeting will be understanding the complaints of Vinyl City’s citizens.” Tatiana glanced at the projection, her smile faltering only slightly as she continued. “Luckily for us, Bunk Bed Junction has gone out of their way to gather the opinions of those in each District, and now they will be presenting them to us. Also, pease be prepared to take notes, as we will be discussing solutions to these issues once the presentation is over.”

With that, Tatiana stepped aside, allowing the focus to fall on Mayday and Zuke. 

Zuke froze up immediately, so Mayday spoke first.

“So!” she began, “we pretty much questioned random people we saw in each of your guys’ Districts, and we also used some of our friends’ opinions, and then Zuke put ‘em in a bunch of charts!”

Zuke grabbed his phone from his pocket and swiped, causing the image to change.

This one boasted a relatively well made pie chart with eyes doodled into the corner.

“So, our plan is to just go down the list and talk about the main things people mentioned,” Zuke said, “starting with Dream Fever.”

Eve folded her hands on the table, staring straight past Mayday and Zuke to get a proper look at the graph.

Zuke shuffled to the side as Mayday pointed to the chart. “Most people we talked to were actually pretty happy with the District,” she said, “but they still had a few issues. Even though they really like the look of the Dream Fever, they said some things were just too artsy.”

“We’re mostly talking accessibility issues,” Zuke said, leaning against the wall as he looked to the chart. “Unconventional stairs making it hard for people with disabilities, signs that are impossible to read, weird door handles that aren’t easy to grab, stuff like that.”

Eve only nodded in response, writing something down in the world’s smallest notebook that she had somehow acquired.

After a moment of silence, Zuke moved on to the next image, which depicted yet another graph. This time, however, the image featured amateur doodles of J’s boys in the margins.

Zuke spoke up first, motioning to the graph. “So, the thing about the Metro Division is that we got _very_ mixed responses.”

J immediately sat at attention, pointing his phone at the projection as Rin craned his neck to get a better look. The rest of the boys, who had seated themselves at different points around the table, seemed mostly disinterested.

“Some people think the Metro Division has no flaws, while others were adamant about there being big issues,” Zuke continued, furrowing his brow. “The thing people were talking about the most was the _constant_ promotional material for 1010.”

Nova caught a glimpse of an unamused Zimelu muttering something to Haym.

“Most people - like me - are fine with the 1010 ads in moderation,” Mayday said, tacking on a smile as she glanced specifically at Rin. Moments later, she looked back to the projection. “What gets annoying is when old tech gets turned into promotional bots, and promotional bots only.” 

“There’s also a bit of uneasiness surrounding 1010 after the battle.” Zuke pointed out another section of the chart. “People aren’t feeling especially safe after seeing what’s behind the faces.”

Mayday fiddled with her glove as she pressed her back to the wall. “Which is totally our fault, by the way.”

J and his boys all shifted uncomfortably in their seats, with Eloni practically curling in on himself as he looked away.

Knowing the boys, Nova couldn’t quite fathom what had caused the discomfort. Granted, he hadn’t gotten to see the fight with 1010, so all information about it had been second and thirdhand. 

Tatiana had mentioned the androids growing fairly unsettling, but anything would become unsettling after being repeatedly beaten with a guitar.

Even then, what about the boys would ever be so frightening that it would leave such a lasting impact on so many people?

Tatiana took one step forward, bringing the attention back on her. “We can work out the fix for this later, so let’s move on." She motioned to the chart as she stepped back once again. "Was there anything else the citizens of the Metro Division had to say?”

Mayday jumped away from the wall in a heartbeat, regaining all of her energy from before. “Oh, yeah.” She pointed at a small sliver of the chart. “I guess there were a few people who mentioned getting electrocuted when they visited Baracca Mansion. I dunno what happened there, but-”

“They only would have been electrocuted if they were messing with the fence,” J interjected.

Nova found himself tilting his head at J. Since when had Baracca Mansion possessed an electric fence?

Zuke raised an eyebrow at J. “The fence wasn’t electric during the Rock Revolution, though?”

“Exactly. That’s one of the reasons you two were able to get in,” J muttered, his shoulders tense.

“Shouldn’t there at least be some warnings?” Zuke asked.

“And warn potential intruders?” J unplugged his phone from his monitor with the force he used to cross his arms. “ _Hell no_.”

Mrs. Natura shot a look at J just as Tatiana spoke up.

“Neon J,” she said, pinching the bridge of her nose, “please remember that one of the artists present is _ten_.”

J’s radar pinged as he visibly winced. “Ah, yes.” He turned in the approximate direction of Mrs. Natura and Yinu. “Sorry.”

“Hey, speaking of kids,” Mayday said, “what if a kid got zapped by your fence?”

J snapped his monitor toward Mayday as he tensed even further. “What?”

“You’ve got no warnings on your electric fence, even though it’s surrounding the biggest tourist spot in the Metro Division.” She shrugged, crossing to the other side of the projection. “What if something happened like a kid trying to climb on it? They'd get a pretty good zap.”

J sat completely still for ten seconds, his radar occasionally pinging.

“I’ll have warning signs up no later than Saturday.”

Mayday and Zuke both stared at J for a moment, only to quickly look away. Zuke changed the projected image once again, and Mayday pointed to the piece of the chart just next to the flower doodles.

“Natura’s another one where people are mostly fine,” she said with a shrug, “a bunch of older people talked about missing all of the plants and stuff, though.”

Mrs. Natura nodded as the chart for Akusuka was displayed, which was of course accompanied by doodles of fish.

“Weirdly enough, the biggest complaint we got about Akusuka is that traffic’s really bad going through the District,” Zuke muttered, tilting his head at the chart. “Also, it’s got kind of an opposite issue to the Metro Division. Where the Metro Division is repurposing old tech into stuff people don’t want, Akusuka is replacing old, reliable tech with new stuff people don’t care about and don’t want to learn to use.”

The Sayu Crew muttered among themselves as the last slide was finally presented. The doodle this time was a cluster of stars.

Mayday placed her hands on her hips as she took a deep breath, locking her eyes on Nova. “Okay, Cast Tech.” She slapped the wall beside the largest section of the chart. “Literally everyone we talked to hates the statues. They suck up power and don’t do anything.”

Zuke nodded along with everything Mayday said. “People want to see more money going toward city infrastructure and building up the community.”

Nova found himself crossing his arms, unable to argue.

Despite their ineloquence, the Plutonians had a point.

"I understand."

Zuke and Mayday both raised their eyebrows at the DJ before moving on to… Yet another slide?

They had already gone through all of the Districts. What else could be left?

Mayday grinned as she made a grand motion toward the chart, which had doodles of many people Nova did not recognize. “And last, but not least…”

“The outskirts.” Zuke pointed out a few points on the chart. “We just generally need more attention over there. Roads need to be repaved, buildings need to be fixed up, things like that.”

“I’ve tripped over the same pothole, like, five times in the past month,” Mayday muttered.

Tatiana scanned over the slide, humming to herself before speaking. “Is that everything?”

Mayday and Zuke both glanced at each other before nodding.

“Perfect.” Tatiana motioned toward the table. “You two please take a seat so that we can find solutions to each of the issues you brought to light.”

Zuke nodded, taking a moment to shut off the projector before following Mayday to find a seat.

“Now,” Tatiana continued, “let us discuss each District, starting with Dream Fever.” She turned to Eve, who glanced up from her tiny notebook. “Eve, do you have any ideas?”

Eve nodded, clicking her pen as she gently set her notebook on the table. “A few.”

“Please tell us so that we may discuss them.”

As Eve began to talk, Nova got comfortable in his chair.

At this rate, he’d be lucky if the meeting was out before dark.

* * *

Nova glanced out at the setting sun as Tatiana chattered with the Plutonians about the outskirts.

Over the course of the meeting, everyone had grown somewhat restless. Eve had done nothing but write in her notebook after Dream Fever was discussed, and Yinu squirmed in her seat at every opportunity, despite the coloring supplies she’d been given by her mother. The Sayu Crew had been bored out of their minds the moment the discussion had moved on from Akusuka.

All of J’s boys, minus Rin, had grown quite tense after the discussion of their District, leading to idle fidgeting and a complete avoidance of eye contact from anyone. Just beside Nova, J muttered under his breath as he tapped notes into his phone, which he had plugged into his monitor again some time ago.

Even Nova found himself making a mental list of everything he had to do when he arrived home. 

First, compile everything said about Cast Tech about today. Second, create a list of what he hadn’t had time to speak about. Third, expand on said ideas. Fourth…

As Mayday and Zuke both took a seat, Tatiana cleared her throat and clasped her hands together.

In an instant, everyone’s attention was on Tatiana.

“So,” she said, centering herself at the head of the table, “now that we’ve discussed potential fixes in detail, let’s set at least one goal per District to be acheived by next month’s meeting.”

Eve was the first to speak up, looking over her notes. “When I arrive home, I’ll be seeking advice about accessible infrastructure. By the end of the month, I would like to start the process of implementing whatever I learn.”

Tatiana nodded to Eve. “Let me know when you wish to begin making changes to Dream Fever.”

As Eve looked back to her notebook, Tatiana stared at J.

“Neon J.”

J sat at attention, saluting Tatiana with his free hand. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Tell me your goals for your District.”

“Ah! Yes,” J relaxed just slightly as his boys all glanced up from whatever they had been doing. “To bring 1010 back into the good graces of the general public, leading to less discomfort from citizens of the Metro Division, I want to launch a prominent, yet less aggressive marketing campaign. I’ll shut down some of the promotional bots and invest more time into setting up interviews and photoshoots.” He tented his fingers upon the table. “Potentially, there will be more concerts, if you’ll allow it.”

Out of the corner of his vision, Nova caught frowns from Zimelu and Purl-Hew. They were only slight changes in expression, unnoticeable to most.

Which led Nova to wonder as to when he’d grown the ability to catch such a change.

Nova was dragged out of his thoughts when Tatiana spoke once more.

“I can only give you an extra concert a week with the current music landscape,” she said, “however, NSR will offer its assistance in finding opportunities to promote 1010.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

Rin perked up a bit as Zimelu and Purl-Hew exchanged a subtle look.

Tatiana turned to Mrs. Natura and Yinu next.

Mrs Natura spoke while Yinu continued squirming in her seat. “Construction on the community garden will start by the end of this month."

The Sayu Crew all glanced up from their pile of notes, staring at Tatiana with a mixture of exhaustion and confusion.

Tatiana took one look at them all before folding her arms behind her back. “Team Sayu, let’s meet another time this week to discuss Akusuka in further detail, yes?”

As all four kids nodded, Tatiana glanced at Mayday and Zuke. “The same goes for you two. We’ll talk more about fixing the specific issues of the outskirts later.”

Zuke offered Tatiana a thumbs up as Mayday nodded enthusiastically.

With that, Tatiana set her gaze on Nova.

“That just leaves Cast Tech, then.”

“I suppose my first order of business is to power down the statues,” Nova sighed, “then I’ll work to reallocate the energy to wherever it’s most needed.”

“Is that all?”

Nova paused.

“I’ve actually been working on an idea involving Club Planetarium,” he muttered, “though, it’s going to be further than a month out.”

“I see. Let’s talk about it after the meeting, then.”

Nova nodded as Tatiana squared her shoulders and looked over the table.

“Anyway, I’d like to thank you all once again for coming out here. After today’s meeting, I feel that the Districts are now on the path toward growth.” She pushed her glasses up her nose. “With that, I’d like to wish you all a safe trip home and a good night. This meeting is officially over.”

Immediately, chatter sprang up from all around the room as everyone relaxed.

The first one to her feet was Eve, who quickly excused herself, said her goodbyes to everyone - including Bunk Bed Junction - and made her away out of the room. Everyone else took the time to gather their things before even attempting to move.

Nova rolled his shoulders as he prepared to stand up, only for J to turn to him.

For some reason, he froze.

“Hey, Nova?”

“Yes?”

“When you’re done talking with Tatiana, meet me downstairs in the lobby,” he said, standing up.

“I mean, sure,” Nova muttered, tilting his head as he took to his feet, “but _why_?”

J shrugged. “You’ll see when you get downstairs.”

“Ah, that clears everything up.” Nova crossed his arms. “Thank you for not being vague or even the slightest bit ominous. I really do appreciate it.”

J let out a laugh as he clapped Nova on the shoulder. “Of course!” he said, turning on his heel and walking away as the Sayu Crew left the room. “Anyways, I’ll see you in a minute,” he called over his shoulder. “Troops!”

As the boys shot to attention, Nova sighed and stepped away from the table. The moment he turned around, he stood face to face with Tatiana.

“So, DJ Subatomic Supernova, you mentioned a plan for Club Planetarium. What is it?”

“Ah, yes,” Nova said, straightening his back and pushing back his shoulders. “First of all, it’s not exactly a plan just yet. It’s still an idea deep in the brainstorming stage, and it’s relatively experimental-”

Nova stumbled over his words as Tatiana raised an eyebrow at him.

“...Right,” Nova muttered. “Anyway, I’ve noticed that Club Planetarium as a venue does almost nothing when there’s nobody performing, which is far too often for my tastes. I would like to see its observatory being put to use when possible, but it just isn’t popular anymore.” He raised his index finger. “That’s why I’ve formed an idea to bring traffic to the observatory again.”

Tatiana narrowed her eyes for just a moment, only to nod. “Go on.”

“I’m hoping to put together some sort of educational event, directed toward those who only have basic knowledge of the night sky, but who would like to know more.” Nova shoved both of his hands into his pockets. “It should be noted though, it wouldn’t make much money for NSR. It would need to be an inexpensive event so as not to scare away the citizens of Cast Tech and its neighboring communities, so all money would need to go to the venue.”

Tatiana slowly nodded. “I don’t mind if NSR doesn’t make a profit on such a thing, so long as the event doesn’t actively drain our resources.”

Nova tilted his head. “So I can continue building upon the plan?”

“Yes, of course.” Tatiana folded her arms behind her back. “I’m curious, though. Who would lead the educational aspect of it all?” she asked, staring directly at Nova, “last I heard, Club Planetarium had let go of all of its lecturers.”

“Well, since I’m the one who wants to see the observatory succeed so badly, I would perform the lecture if need be.”

“I see.” Tatiana’s lips curled upward into an almost-smile. “I’m happy to see that you’re taking an interest in building up community centers in Cast Tech. Keep up the good work, as this is the sort of behavior NSR needs to see in the coming months.”

Nova nodded. “Ehm… Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Tatiana paused, glancing around the meeting room before settling her gaze back onto Nova. “You should probably be going, now. The limos are set to arrive soon.”

Nova quickly scanned the room, only to find that he was the last one left, besides Tatiana.

“Ah- of course.” Nova hurried to the door, pausing just as he stepped out of the meeting room to look back to Tatiana. “Have a good day.”

Tatiana gave Nova a curious look before waving to him. “And you, too.”

With that, Nova rushed down the hallway and back to the elevator.

Before he even knew it, he was staring out at Vinyl City once more, this time descending below the skyscrapers and watching the setting sun fall out of view, covered by the city.

Finally, a soft tone rang throughout the elevator as the doors slid open.

Almost every other NSRtist waited in the lobby, with the only exception being Eve, who must have chosen to walk back to Dream Fever.

Nova wasted no time in picking J out from the group. He stood near the doors, not far from where Haym, Purl-Hew, and Eloni were chatting with a somewhat bothered Zuke and an extremely flustered Mayday. Not far from this conversation, Zimelu and Rin stood off to the side, eying the group.

As Nova approached, he heard a ping come from J just before he spun around.

“So, what was it you wanted to tell me that needed to wait until we were in the lobby?” Nova asked, stopping once he stood in front of J.

J chuckled as he reached into his coat and pulled out a few slightly crinkled papers. “I have another gift for you.”

Nova made so move as he stared. “J, that is paper.”

J placed his free hand on his hip. “God, you’re picky,” he snickered, offering the papers to Nova. “Anyway, they’re not _just_ paper. They’re my notes on your blueprints.”

Nova tilted his head as he took the papers and scanned them over. “Oh?”

“Yeah. Sorry for being cryptic about it.” J shrugged and lowered his voice. “I would’ve given them to you before the meeting started, but I don’t know if you want Tatiana knowing about the satellite yet or not.”

Nova glanced up from the papers. “I hadn’t even thought about that, actually,” he muttered, neatly folding the notes and placing them in his pocket. “But now that you mention it, I’d say we should only present the satellite once all of its flaws have been properly ironed out.”

“Good idea.”

Just then, the rumbling of an engine came from outside.

J tilted his head at the noise before motioning to the doors with his head. “You should take the first limo. You’ve got the longest drive home.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Nova sighed, glancing through the glass at the limo. “I’d best be off, then.”

J waved in Nova’s general direction. “See you tomorrow!”

“Indeed,” Nova replied as he opened the door. “Also, thank you for the notes!”

J gave Nova a thumbs up through the glass.

Turning his back on the NSR Tower, Nova hurried into the limo and boarded it.

As he took a seat and the limo accelerated, Nova pulled the notes from his pocket and unfolded them.

He was met with dozens of notes written in J’s angular scrawl. Each note was highly detailed, giving an in-depth observation or fix that could have only come from a careful study of Nova’s blueprints.

It sparked an odd sort of feeling in Nova, something between fondness and bewilderment, knowing that J had spent potentially hours of his time poring over blueprints written up at 4am.

How he could’ve done such a thing without going insane was beyond Nova.

Nova also couldn’t have helped but ask himself _why_ J would even bother with such a thing.

Oddly enough, it was a question Nova found himself pushing out of his mind as soon as it appeared.

And yet, he continued to wonder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok. im officially on winter break yall!! I'm hoping to get back into the normal updates again haha, because these past 2 chapters took FOREVER with schoolwork and stuff
> 
> also it was so fun getting to write (well, almost. sorry Sayu Crew) everyone!! There's only a few chapters where everyone will be appearing like this, but GOD they're funky fresh. Im excited for the next time.
> 
> btw yes it was extremely painful not getting to refer to May as May but DJSS is a bitch like that in prose so 8)


	10. Completely Honest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER 10 WOOOO
> 
> Also, a quick CW for this chapter: There's an injury. I wouldn't say it's graphic, but it's mentioned a lot.

“So, when exactly will the boys’ interview be airing?” Nova hummed, walking beside J as he led the way through the now familiar hallways of Baracca Mansion.

“Their slot starts at nineteen-hundred hours,” J replied, tilting his head as he walked past a framed plaque. “Well, as long as nothing crazy happens and forces the producers to move things around.”

“I’m assuming you’d alert me if something of that nature occurred, though?”

J let out a laugh and patted Nova on the shoulder. “ _Of course_ ~!”

Nova chuckled and nodded, glancing outside as he passed by a window. On the other side of the glass, rain poured down as clouds darkened the sky, making the afternoon sky seem closer to dusk.

Normally, Nova would have been _arriving_ at Baracca Mansion in the afternoon, not leaving it.

It had been almost a month since the last NSR meeting, and since then, 1010’s schedule had become nothing less than an absolute nightmare to work around. While Nova and J had managed to find a new time for Purl-Hew’s music lessons, the meetings for Nova’s satellite had not been nearly as consistent.

Even though weekly discussions about the satellite had still taken place, _when_ they happened would often be a complete unknown until the day of. Usually, the goal was to meet at Baracca Mansion on whatever night J and Nova were both free, until some sort of promotional stunt came up and forced a rescheduling.

Today, however, had been the opposite. One of the boys’ photoshoots had been cancelled due to the bad weather. Because of this, J had called and offered to meet in the newly acquired free time.

So, of course, Nova had taken the first bus to the Metro Division.

He’d arrived at 2:00pm, and yet, despite arriving as soon as he could, the meeting had still been cut short. The boys had a live talk show appearance in the evening, meaning Nova found himself being escorted to the front door by 4:00pm.

Honestly, he wasn’t even surprised by this anymore. For the past month, it seemed that J and the boys were in a constant state of movement. If there was any free time, it was always filled in by the next photoshoot, filming, or concert for 1010.

It was beyond Nova as to how J and the boys managed to live with such a schedule.

“Nova?”

J had stopped at the end of the hallway, his radar pinging as he turned around. “What’re you doing over there?”

Nova held his briefcase close, turning his back on the window before hurrying over to J. “My apologies. I was simply thinking”

J tilted his head as Nova stood beside him. “What about?”

“Oh, nothing in particular.”

With a nod, J turned the corner and led Nova into the front room of Baracca Mansion.

As per usual, the chairs and couch had been shoved to the side while Eloni sat on the floor, sprawled across multiple beanbags. He stared blankly at the TV, which displayed some sort of game in an idle state.

He hadn’t moved an inch since Nova’s arrival.

The moment Nova and J’s footsteps echoed through the front room, Eloni snapped out of his daze and turned to face them.

“Hey Dad,” he said, rolling over so far he nearly fell off of the beanbags. After a moment, he paused to glance at Nova and wave. “Hey DJ.”

Nova nodded to Eloni as he followed J to the door.

J waved in Eloni’s general direction, his radar pinging as he marched forward. “Eloni, do you know where your brothers are?”

Eloni sat up and shrugged with shoulders hunched just a little too far forward. “Rin was in here just a minute ago, but he ran off because he thought he heard something,” he muttered, glancing down a hallway. “Everyone else is probably off doing the usual, though.”

“Ah.” J stopped just before he hit the entryway. “Could you let them know that we need to leave in thirty minutes?”

Eloni nodded as he took to his feet. “So, be ready in twenty?”

“Affirmative.”

“Gotcha.” Eloni gave J a lackluster salute before meandering over to the stairs. As he shuffled away, he glanced at Nova and put on a slight smile as he waved. “See ya later, DJ!”

“Indeed,” Nova said with a wave, “have a good night.”

Eloni’s expression returned to neutrality as he offered Nova a thumbs up and hurried up the stairs.

As Nova dropped his hand to his side, he was struck with the realization that Eloni had been the only android to make any sort of appearance today.

How strange.

“Oh, before you go,” J said, turning around and leaning against the wall, “do you want to try to schedule our next meetup now?”

“I don’t see why not,” Nova shrugged, “when would you be free?”

“I think Thursday evening’s the only time we’re not booked,” J said, pushing off from the wall. “Does that work for you?”

“I believe so,” Nova said, stepping toward the entryway, “but I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”

“Perfect.” J turned back to the front door, walking over to it before working through the many locks. He let out a small chuckle as he undid one of the two door chains. “Let’s just hope we don’t get another surprise photoshoot the day befo-”

“ _Captain _!”__

J flinched while Nova froze at what was unmistakably Rin’s near-hysteric cry.

Before Nova could even formulate a thought, J tore past him and down a hall without a word.

Moments later, Nova found himself dropping his suitcase and chasing after J.

How Nova managed to keep pace with J was a mystery as the hallways rapidly faded from familiarity and into the alien. A sour taste and the sound of his own heartbeat nearly overrode Nova’s sense of feeling in his limbs. With each step, the pinging of J’s radar grew more frantic. With each breath, Nova’s lungs and mind screamed louder than before.

_Was Rin alright?_

Panicked words floated by over Nova’s own thoughts. They were barely audible over J and Nova’s footsteps and impossible to string together.

Was it the sentences themselves that were nonsensical, or was it Nova who had lost the ability to make sense of them?

Finally, after turning one more corner, J came to a halt. Nova stopped just behind him, attempting to make sense of the scene before him as J’s radar went berserk.

They had found themselves at the side door, which was closed, but unlocked. In front of the door, Rin paced back and forth. He kept his eyes on the ground and he ran his hands through his soaked hair, frantically rambling to himself as he stared at the floor.

Nova’s gut grew heavy as he followed Rin’s gaze and spotted Zimelu.

He lay perfectly still on the floor, his eyes devoid of their crimson lights. His arm had been broken off at the elbow, as evidenced by the severed forearm covered in mud lying on his chest.

As Nova brought a hand to his head, J stepped forward with an uncanny level of what seemed to be composure.

His radar’s incessant pinging told a different story.

J took a deep breath, folding his arms behind his back as he turned his monitor toward Rin.

“Okay. What happened? Please explain.”

Rin snapped to attention, his shoulders shaking as he pointed to Zimelu.

“Zimelu was offline and laying by the fence and his arm’s broken and he won’t wake up-!” he stopped himself, his fingers twitching as he took a moment to calm himself. “Sorry. Anyways,” he muttered, flexing his fingers and squaring his shoulders, “there’s no evidence of an intruder, but Zimelu’s bedroom window was open.” Rin frowned as he stared down at his brother. “I think he broke his arm trying to climb out of it. I don’t know how he got to the fence before shutting down, though.”

Rather than responding to Rin’s claim, J extended his hand. “Give me Zimelu’s arm, please.”

Rin did as instructed without hesitation, snatching the arm and dropping it into J’s palm.

J ran his fingers along the metal until he found the joint, which had taken a moderate amount of damage. His radar pinged as he felt over the joint, and his shoulders tensed as he rolled the wires between his fingers.

“Is he gonna be okay?” Rin muttered, shifting uncomfortably in his spot.

“It’s going to take a while to reattach the arm and bring him back online,” J said, “but he’ll be fine in the end.” His posture relaxed as he turned to his son. “I’m going to have to cancel the interview, though.”

Rin’s expression fell even further at that.

“Like, completely? No rescheduling or anything?”

“Rin, there’s no way I’m getting this arm back on in a short amount of time,” J said, “plus, I need to check the security footage and find out how exactly Zimelu managed to trigger an automatic shutdown out on the lawn.” He paused, bringing a hand to his monitor. “Or at least, I can do that right after I call the studio and cancel. Then I need to let Tatiana know the interview’s been cancelled... But I should probably let the rest of the boys know first.” J weighed Zimelu’s arm in his hand. “Dammit- I need to get Zimelu to the workroom first, and _then_ I can call Tatiana while I’m working in security and-”

Nova cleared his throat.

“J, would you like some help?”

Both J and Rin turned to Nova. Rin, for once, didn’t narrow his eyes at Nova, instead tilting his head to the side.

“...Yes, actually,” J muttered. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” Nova stepped forward. “Now, what can I do?”

With the ping of his radar, J pointed to Zimelu. “Do you think you’d be able to bring Zimelu to the workroom?”

“I believe so,” Nova replied. “I’ll need directions to it from here, though.”

“Rin, please lead Nova to the workroom,” J said, motioning to Rin. “And when you’re done with that, could you let the others know that the interview’s been cancelled? I’m pretty sure they’re all upstairs.”

Rin’s lips formed a tight line as he glanced at Nova, yet he still nodded and saluted to J. “Yes, sir.”

J handed Zimelu’s arm to Rin before stepping back. “I’m going to go make those calls and check the security footage. I’ll talk to you both in a bit.”

With that, J turned on his heel and hurried down the hall, moving far too quickly to truly be as calm as he had seemed.

Before he could ponder J’s current state of mind, Nova kneeled down beside Zimelu. He carefully scooped the android off of the ground, which proved to be no easy feat, as Zimelu was deceptively heavy despite his thin frame. Still, though, Nova managed to pull the boy off of the ground and into his arms before standing back up.

Even though his arms were already growing numb, Nova held Zimelu close.

“You good?” Rin asked, raising an eyebrow at the DJ. “You look like you’re gonna fall over.”

Nova straightened his back. “I’m perfectly fine, though I appreciate the concern.”

Rin crossed his arms as he turned his back on Nova and began walking down the hall. “Whatever. Just don’t drop my brother.”

Even though he was made from solid metal, the thought of dropping Zimelu sent streaks of panic down Nova’s spine.

He held Zimelu closer.

As they made their way through the halls, Rin made no attempt at conversation. Instead, he kept a pace that was just a bit too quick for Nova’s liking, but not quick enough for Nova to ask him to slow down. So, instead of wondering as to whether Rin was being malicious or not, Nova focused on Zimelu’s face.

The poor boy’s eyes were dark, and his expression was completely blank.

He seemed almost… Hollow.

_No, not hollow._

Hollow implied that there was nothing left inside, which was certainly untrue. If Nova listened closely, he could hear the occasional whirr or beep come from somewhere within Zimelu’s chest.

He was still there. He was simply asleep.

Yes, asleep was a far better word for it, because he would wake up eventually.

“Hey, Supernova,” Rin called over his shoulder, “we’re here.”

Nova glanced up, picking up the pace as Rin opened the door to the workroom.

The room was exactly as Nova and J had left it only a few minutes ago. The desk sat in the middle of the room with a few blueprints and pens left sitting atop it. The two chairs had been pushed out from the desk, and the metal frame was still positioned to aim a camera at the table.

Rin wasted no time in walking to the desk and setting down Zimelu’s arm. After a moment of looking over the desk, he began collecting everything off of it.

As Rin put away the blueprints, Nova gently set Zimelu on the desk, careful to ensure he didn’t bump against the metal frame. After triple checking to make sure that Zimelu was safely on the desk, Nova took a seat and let his numb arms drop to his sides.

“Thanks for the help," Rin said, walking past the DJ. "Oh, and by the way, you can go home now.”

Nova glanced up at Rin, who stood by the door. For once, his features lacked any trace of outward distaste as he spoke. Instead, he stared at Nova with wide eyes, studying him as he awaited a response.

“I’m sorry?”

“I mean, nobody’s forcing you to stay here. If you really wanted to, you could just go home and move on with your night. The Captain would understand.” Rin shrugged as he leaned against the doorframe. “After all, you're a busy man.”

Staring back at Rin, Nova desperately wished he could have felt an ounce of disbelief.

Unfortunately, only a simpleton would have been surprised by this development.

Nova sighed.

“Listen, Rin,” he muttered, tenting his fingers together as he leaned forward in his seat. “I understand that you are not fond of me, and I will attempt to respect that. However, I will not be leaving anytime soon.”

Rin’s expression cracked, showing slivers of panic, discomfort, and indigence as he continued to stare.

“I intend on staying here until I have checked in with J and ensured that he needs no more assistance. Unless he requests I leave earlier than that, I will be sticking to my plan.” Nova leaned back into his chair, crossing one leg over the other. “However, to avoid friction, I’ll offer you an arrangement during the time I am in your space.”

Rin regained his composure in an instant by narrowing his eyes and tilting his head. “What is it?”

“After this conversation, I will not force you to interact with me in any way if I can help it,” Nova said with a handwave. “I will not engage with you if you do not engage with me first, and I will avoid you so long as it is practical. All I ask for in return is that you remain civil while I’m around.”

Rin’s features had grown softer by just a fraction, but he still furrowed his brow at Nova.

“You needn’t worry, as there are no hidden strings attached,” Nova continued, “I’m simply trying to make us both comfortable.”

Rin’s expression shifted into one of perplexion in an instant. “Wait, how the heck are _you_ uncomfortable?”

“Unlike your father, I am not blind. I can see every glare, sneer, and side eye you send my way.”

“...And that made you uncomfortable?”

“I’m an adult. The occasional dirty look isn’t enough to ruin my day,” Nova said with a shrug. “Though, it certainly wasn’t pleasant.”

"Oh," Rin muttered, looking to the ground.

After a moment, he continued.

“I’m not gonna take your offer,” he said. “But, I’ll stop with the nasty looks if you do me a favor.”

Nova found himself sitting upright in his chair. “What sort of favor is it?”

“It's easy.” Rin paused, glancing back up at Nova. “I just want you to honestly answer a question.”

Nova placed his hands in his lap. “Go on.”

Rin squared his shoulders and folded his arms behind his back, mimicking J’s signature stance.

“You care about the Captain, right?” he questioned, tilting his head to the side. “Like, as a person. Not just ‘cause he’s helping you with your satellite.”

Nova didn’t hesitate in his response.

“Yes, of course. I’d consider J to be one of my closest friends, satellite or not.”

For some reason, a tight knot formed in Nova’s chest as he heard the words he’d just uttered.

“Okay.” Rin nodded, pushing himself off of the doorway. “Keep being good to the Captain, and I’ll be decent.”

Then, Rin stared Nova dead on, with a gaze that pierced straight through the DJ.

“You’d better not have lied, though.”

Before Nova could answer, Rin jumped at the sound of something and hurried down the hall.

Nova slumped backward in his seat.

Why did it suddenly feel as though he could hardly breathe?

His thoughts were interrupted by metal footsteps approaching from the hallway, along with a ping interspersed here and there.

Nova looked back up at the doorway just as J walked into the workroom.

With another ping of his radar, J tilted his head in Nova’s general direction.

“Oh, Nova,” he muttered, finally letting the exhaustion seep through his voice. “You’re still here?”

“Indeed.” Nova stood up and stepped toward J. “I wanted to make sure you had everything handled instead of simply walking out the door.”

J slowly nodded, walking toward the desk. “Thanks for waiting.” He stopped to grab his phone and wire from his coat pocket. “I think I’ve got almost everything taken care of, aside from repairing Zimelu’s arm.”

“I see.” Nova placed his hands in his pockets as he glanced at the door once more. “I’m guessing you’d prefer to be alone while-?”

_“No.”_

Nova flinched at the force behind the word.

“Sorry- fuck.” J brought a hand to his monitor as he fell into his chair. “You probably need to get home. I just…” He placed his free hand on Zimelu’s shoulder and sighed.

“...Would you rather I stay and chat?”

“If you’re comfortable sticking around, yes.”

Nova sat back down in his chair. “Is there anything you’d like to talk about?”

J shrugged as he placed his phone into the metal frame and plugged it into his monitor. “I checked the security footage,” he muttered, grabbing Zimelu’s arm and bringing it to the camera. “Noticed a few things.”

“Such as?”

“Well, first off, Rin was right. Zimelu climbed out of his window and fell, which is how he managed to tear off his entire arm.”

Nova winced at the idea of it.

“So, after snapping his arm off like a branch on a tree, Zimelu got up like nothing happened. He then looked at his arm, seemingly said ‘fuck it’, marched straight to the fence and just… Grabbed it. Didn’t even try climbing it before passing out a few seconds later.” He set Zimelu’s arm down and angled his phone toward the boy’s elbow. His shoulders tensed as he began studying the broken wires. “I’m guessing that the electric current combined with the loss of an arm is what forced Zimelu’s system into an automatic shutdown.”

Nova tilted his head as he stared at Zimelu’s blank face. “You know, it almost sounds as if this was all intentional.”

“I know.”

“But, why?”

“Good question,” J sighed, wiping a bit of mud off of the arm.

Silence fell over the room as Nova attempted to think of a response.

Eventually, J sat back in his chair.

“Anyways,” he muttered, “could you grab me the small tool kit on the shelf to my left? It’ll be on the fourth shelf up.”

“Of course,” Nova said, standing up and walking to the shelf. “Is there anything else you need?”

“...Yeah, actually.” J tilted his head. “Could you just… Keep talking?” he muttered.

Nova grabbed the kit from the shelf and set it in front of J. “What about?”

“Anything, as long as it isn’t quiet in here.” J shrugged and opened up the tool kit. “Tell me about your favorite star or something.”

“J, you can’t expect me to simply choose a favorite star out of the trillions of-”

J let out a horribly dry laugh as he grabbed a tool and began to poke around Zimelu’s arm. “Even better. Give me five of your favorites, in no specific order.”

Before Nova could begin to explain just how difficult even that would be, he caught a small distortion on J’s monitor and a tremor in his shoulders.

“Very well,” Nova said, taking a seat and settling in. “Allow me to begin with Canopus, the second brightest star in our night sky, only beaten out by Sirius.”

Nova took a moment to pause and study J.

The shaking in his shoulders had lessened, just barely.

Nova continued, “Now, with it being such a prominent star in the sky, it obviously holds significance across many cultures. For example, it’s a part of the constellation Carina, the hull of the Argo Navis…”

* * *

“...However, under those layers of ice, there could still be an ocean on Europa,” Nova said, pausing to cough into his elbow.

J had fallen mostly silent after beginning his work on Zimelu’s arm, so Nova had kept up his chatter for the past two hours. By now he’d briefly touched on just about everything. Stars, planets, comets, interstellar clouds, and even black holes.

Unfortunately, Nova had fallen subject to a dry throat after only an hour of his monologue. Even then, this had been no bother to Nova until just recently, when it had evolved into periodic coughing.

And yet, Nova continued to fill the silence.

“Anyway,” Nova said, taking a deep breath before continuing, “it’s completely possible that we could find life on Europa in subglacial oceans, if they exist. The only real issue would be in _getting_ to those oceans.” Nova paused for a moment. “Well, I suppose there’s also the issue of sending a spacecraft there. It would need to be unmanned due to the travel time, which means that it would need to be able to perform all of its tasks without outside assistance.”

“I’m sure humanity could accomplish something like that in the next few decades.”

Nova jumped to attention at the sound of J’s voice.

“Oh? How so?”

J shrugged with shoulders that were still just slightly too tense. “Technology advances so quickly nowadays. Things I thought were impossible as a kid are commonplace today, so who knows where we’ll be in thirty more years.”

Nova nodded as he placed his palms together. “You make a good point.”

“Thanks,” J muttered, rolling his shoulders as he set his tools down. “Anyways, I think Zimelu’s arm is done.”

Nova leaned over to the table and looked over Zimelu. Sure enough, his arm had been reattached, with the only evidence of former damage being a few scratches in the metal.

A wave of relief washed over Nova at the sight. Already, he could feel himself able to breathe deeper as a tension he hadn’t realized he’d carried faded from his shoulders.

“I just need to complete a few routine checks before I bring him back online,” J continued, grabbing Zimelu’s arm and flexing the elbow joint.

With a nod, Nova slowly leaned back in his chair. “How much longer do you-”

Nova cut himself off to cough into his elbow once more, the itch in his throat flaring up once more.

“Are you alright?” J asked, tilting his head as Nova quieted himself. “You’re coughing a lot lately.”

“It’s nothing, really,” Nova said, taking a moment to get his breathing back under control. “I could probably just use some water, is all.”

J sat straight in his chair at that. “Right. You’ve been talking for two hours and I didn’t even offer you water,” he muttered, moving to stand up. “You stay here for a second, I’ll go get that-”

“No, no, you really don’t need to!” Nova said, taking to his feet. “Zimelu’s almost back online. I can wait a few more minutes.”

“You sound like you’re about to hack up a lung, though.” J muttered, crossing his arms.

“And?”

J threw his arms into the air. “And I’m not going to let my guest sit here and suffer!”

Nova sighed, bringing a hand to his head and taking to his feet. “Fine then, what if we made a compromise?”

J’s radar pinged. “What is it?”

“Just give me directions to the kitchen.”

“Oh. Yeah.” J rubbed his neck. “I guess that’s an option.”

“I’ll only be a few minutes, and you can continue working on Zimelu in that time.”

J stood still over the table.

“You know how to get to the living room from here, right?”

“I do.”

J nodded, slowly taking a seat as he sighed. “Go to the living room and go down the hallway next to the TV. Turn left at the first door and you’ll be in the kitchen.”

“Understood.” Nova put his hand in his pocket as he walked to the door and opened it, only to pause and glance over his shoulder. “Do you need anything?”

J slumped forward as he adjusted his phone on the metal frame. “I guess I should get some liquid in my system, too,” he muttered, poking something on Zimelu’s neck.

“Understood.”

With that, Nova stepped out of the workroom and hurried down the hall, only glancing at the wall decor for navigation purposes. Under normal circumstances, it only took Nova a little under a minute to reach the front room. Today, it felt as though the trip took ages.

When Nova finally arrived in the front room, for once, the room was in a state of order. The TV had been turned off and the furniture had been put back into their proper places.

None of the boys were present

Nova thought nothing of it. Baracca Mansion was enormous, after all. It would make sense that the boys wouldn’t always occupy the front room.

Finding the hallway J had mentioned was easy, as it really was just beside the TV.

Finding the door to the kitchen was even easier, as it had been left wide open.

Nova found out why the moment he stepped inside.

Eloni sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen, building a tower of cups and mugs. He wore the hoodie he’d gotten from last month’s failed commercial, and his hair ring sat on the countertop beside him. He stared at his project with half-lidded eyes, grabbing for the cup at the top of the tower until he took notice of Nova. Immediately, the boy perked up in his seat and tilted his head to the side.

“Oh, hey again, Mr. DJ.”

Nova nodded to Eloni as he walked to the island. “Good evening.”

Before Nova could continue, Eloni leaned over in his seat, seemingly picking something up off the ground.

“This is yours, right?” he asked, sitting back up and placing Nova’s briefcase on the countertop.

“Where on earth did you find that?” Nova muttered, grabbing the briefcase. “I mean, thank you, but I have to ask.”

Eloni let out a lighthearted chuckle, holding up his hands as he shook his head. “I didn’t find it, Rin did.” He fluffed his own hair with a shrug. “He never mentioned where he found it, just asked me to get it back to you.”

Nova tilted his head. “ _Rin_ did?”

“Yeah.” Eloni glanced away from the DJ to adjust the cup at the top of the tower. “Trust me, I was shocked, too.”

Nova simply nodded in response.

Eloni slowly took his hand away from the tower, watching it carefully for any movement. After it had proved itself to be stable, he sat back entirely and looked back up at Nova.

“Anyways, what’d you come all the way to the kitchen for?”

Nova motioned to Eloni’s tower. “Cups.”

Eloni nodded, grabbing the top two cups from the tower and offering them to Nova. “Well, you’re in luck, because I’m pretty sure that’s all we own.” He paused, narrowing his eyes to himself. “Well, aside from like, two knives and a blender.”

Nova took both cups with a nod and headed to the sink. “Really? That’s all?”

“It’s not like we need forks and plates,” Eloni shrugged, “Dad’s the only person here that actually needs food, and he doesn’t have a mouth.”

“Oh.”

Nova held the cup beneath the faucet and started it.

“Hey, DJ?”

Nova glanced at Eloni, who was hunched over the island, staring at his cup tower.

“Yes?”

Eloni placed his elbows on the counter and placed his chin in his hands before looking back to Nova.

“How’s Zi doing?”

Nova set the first cup aside and began filling the other. “Your father told me that he’d be back online soon.”

Eloni nodded, staring at his tower once more.

“How about the rest of you boys?” Nova asked, setting aside the other cup and turning off the faucet. “How are you all doing?”

Eloni shrugged. “We’re all just kinda tired, I guess.” He began taking cups off the top of the tower, disassembling it. “Purl locked himself in his room again, and Haym’s been jittery since he heard about what happened. Meanwhile, Rin keeps flopping between being worried about Zi and being ticked with him for getting the interview cancelled.”

“Ah, right,” Nova muttered, “I’m sorry about the interview.”

Eloni sat up again, allowing himself a smile. “Trust me it’s fine. The rest of us are alright with it.”

“Still though,” Nova said, “it’s a shame that the time and energy you had to spend preparing has gone to waste.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Eloni muttered, collecting the middle section of the tower. “Rin’s the only one who takes those things seriously. The rest of us are just trying to enjoy the bit of downtime we got.” He paused, the corner of his mouth twitching downward. “Granted, it would’ve been nice of Zi to not freak us out like that, but I guess beggars can’t be choosers.”

“...I see.”

Eloni grabbed an armful of cups before standing and walking to a cabinet. “Anyhow, thanks for the info. You should probably get back to Dad, though.”

“Indeed, I should,” Nova said, grabbing his briefcase and the cups of water, the latter of which he carried between his fingers with ease.

“See ya later, DJ.”

“And you too, Eloni.”

Nova hurried out of the kitchen, through the front room, and back down the halls.

The trip back to the workroom somehow felt shorter than the trip from it, for the next thing Nova knew, he was walking toward the still open door of the workroom.

As Nova approached the door, two voices made their way into the hallway. Obviously, it was a conversation between J and Zimelu, meaning J must have brought Zimelu back online while Nova was away.

For once in his life, Nova didn’t attempt to eavesdrop. The tense tone of their conversation was telling enough.

Nova put more weight into his steps as he drew closer to the door, allowing Zimelu plenty of time to quiet himself before Nova stepped into the doorway.

When he turned into the workroom, Nova was met with Zimelu staring straight back at him from what had once been his chair.

It was a sight Nova was more than grateful to see.

“Oh. You’re still here?” Zimelu asked, tilting his head to the side with an unreadable expression.

Nova mirrored Zimelu, tilting his head to the same side. “Do you not see me standing before you?”

Zimelu shrugged. “I dunno. I could’ve broken my eyes or something.”

“Zimelu,” J interjected. His monitor had been unplugged from his phone, and he sat stiff as a board in his seat as he pointed in the general direction of the door. “Please go charge for the night. We’ll talk later.”

Zimelu stood up and flexed the fingers on his reattached arm. “Sure,” he said, turning and walking straight past Nova and out the door.

As Zimelu’s footsteps faded from earshot, J leaned back in his seat with a frustrated groan.

Nova walked to the desk and set J’s glass in front of him. “Do you need to talk about it?”

J sighed. “Yes.”

Nova nodded, placing his own cup on his side of the desk before setting his briefcase down on the floor. “Well, I’m all ears.”

J motioned to the door before rolling up his sleeve on his left arm. “Could you shut the door first?”

Nova walked back to the door and closed it with a click before turning around. “So, what happened?”

“I asked Zimelu about why he crawled out of a second story window and broke his arm, and all I got was ‘I dunno’ on repeat. The worst part is, I'm not even surprised,” J grumbled, opening up a panel on his inner left arm. He grabbed a small tube that extended from his arm and dropped it into the cup before pressing a button. “He’s been like this for the past couple months. Something’s wrong, and he won’t tell me. None of them will.”

Nova tilted his head as he took a seat. “Come again?”

J brought his right hand to his monitor, though he kept his left arm completely still. “Ever since I brought the back boys online, they’ve been acting strange. Every time I try to talk to them, they tell me everything’s fine, and then they turn around and lock themselves in their rooms and shit.” He threw his right arm into the air. “And it’s only gotten worse since the meeting!”

“In what ways, exactly?” Nova asked, softening his tone as he watched J.

“Well, for starters, I thought the boys were tired of being cooped up. They were only getting outside of the mansion once a week for their concerts, and they aren’t acting any better than they had when they were stuck in the house.” J traced his hand along the metal frame on the desk. “So, I put them back on their normal schedule, thinking it’ll get them out of the house more. Instead of this helping them, they all became distant, and then _this_ happened.” He grabbed the corner of his screen and sighed. “I don’t know what’s going on with them.”

Nova slowly nodded.

He could absolutely see where J was coming from. The boys _had_ been acting off for a while now, and this was coming from someone who only really interacted with Purl-Hew on a regular basis. Though, Purl-Hew hadn’t quite been himself for a time.

Ever since the NSR meeting, Purl-Hew had been forced to ask Nova to extend his project deadlines, which, despite being no issue on Nova’s part, seemed to be a big deal to the boy. When he was at Nova’s penthouse for lessons, he wasn’t nearly as talkative as usual, and he rarely greeted Nova when he arrived at Baracca Mansion anymore.

Even then, there had been signs of this sort of behavior in all of the boys long before the meeting. They all seemed stressed nowadays, and, as Eloni had said, tired.

Speaking of Eloni, his words from earlier rang through Nova’s mind. The boys were near desperate for free time nowadays, and Nova couldn’t blame them. All it ever seemed to be for them was going from one place to the next, posing for the next camera at all times.

Just the idea of it all was positively exhausting to the DJ. He could hardly imagine what it was like for a bunch of teenaged boys.

Yes, indeed. After that much work…

“You all need to take a break.”

J snapped to attention.

“What?”

Nova nodded and moved his chair toward the desk. He placed his hands on the desk, not far from where J’s left hand lay.

“J, I know what 1010’s current schedule looks like, and it’s a lot. It’s also probably why the boys have been acting out.” Nova clasped his hands together. “Therefore, it may be beneficial for you and the boys to take a week or two of time away from 1010 related business.”

“Listen, Nova, you bring up a good point, but…”J frantically shook his head. “I can’t do that to them again.”

“What? Why not?”

“Last time the boys had an extended break from 1010, they nearly went insane. You remember the Haym and Purl-Hew incident, don’t you?”

“That only occurred because they were stuck in their house for weeks on end while one of their brothers was in a comatose state,” Nova said, leaning forward. “They need a break where they’re allowed to do the things they want, outside of the mansion.”

J finally took the tube out of his cup, allowing it to retract back into his arm. “I’d love to give them that,” he muttered, closing the panel on his arm and rolling his sleeve back down, “but I can’t bring the boys anywhere in Vinyl City without their fans finding them. I can barely get Purl-Hew safely to his lessons some days. Bringing all five of the boys to a mall or something?” His shoulders tensed at the idea. “The risk of injury is too high, especially since I _still_ don’t have the factory.”

“How much longer do you think it’ll be before the factory’s running again?”

“It hasn’t even been approved for repairs yet,” J said, crossing his arms. “Right now, all of NSR’s resources are going toward the Districts, so at this rate, it’ll be a while until I have my factory back.”

Nova nodded and stared down at the table in thought.

“You mentioned that you can’t bring them anywhere inside of Vinyl City?”

“Affirmative.”

Nova let out a victorious laugh.

“Well then, there’s a simple solution to that!” he chuckled, straightening his back and placing his palms down on the desktop. “Take a vacation outside of Vinyl City.”

J didn’t seem even the slightest bit amused.

“Nova, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I can’t take them to places like the airport right now. NSR doesn’t have the resources for the security we’d need.”

“You don’t _need_ the airport to go on vacation,” Nova said, “you could very easily take them camping. Or, better yet, a road trip! It’s inexpensive, mostly out of the public eye, and it keeps you on the move so as to avoid the particularly rabid fans.”

J tilted his head. “Do you know the actual reason why I can drive a motorcycle while legally blind?”

Ah, yes. That was somewhat of an issue.

“You don’t drive, you careen,” Nova muttered. “Other than that, though, I’m assuming it has something to do with your radar.”

J made an eye roll motion at Nova’s first remark before responding. “Exactly. Not to mention, haven’t driven a car in over fifteen years, so that’s a recipe for disaster.” He forced a chuckle as he sat back in his chair. “So, unless I either magically regain my eyesight, get a perfect self-driving car, or, I don’t know, _you_ offered to drive or something, it’s not happening. I’ll find ways to give the boys breaks, but a vacation would have to-”

“I’d drive.”

All of the air forcibly exited Nova’s lungs when he registered what he’d said, and all the boundaries he’d likely just crossed.

“Wait- what?” J asked, leaning halfway across the desk. “Would you, actually?”

“If you were comfortable with such a thing, obviously.”

Ah, yes. As if _that_ made it all better!

J pushed himself away from the desk and back into his chair, seemingly in disbelief. “Do you even know how to drive a car?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then why do you always take the bus here? You’re constantly complaining about it being behind when you could easily drive here yourself.”

Truth be told, the only reason Nova took public transportation was because he himself loathed driving. It was a dangerous waste of time, as staying focused on the road was terribly difficult when one wanted to work on other things. Not to mention, driving was mind-numbingly boring, with little to do aside from listen to the radio and think (not too hard, though, so as to avoid a collision).

Sure, it was a nice, calm thing to have on the days where Nova found himself overwhelmed, but outside of that, driving was a nuisance at best and a potential casualty at worst.

“I take the bus so that I can multitask. I drive when I can, though,” is what Nova ended up going with, throwing in a shrug for good measure.

J nodded in response, humming to himself before responding. “...So you’d drive through a road trip?”

Nova had so many things he needed to focus on, between his work, his District, and his satellite. A road trip was nothing but an extended waste of time.

...However, the boys likely wouldn’t get the break they needed otherwise. Sure, they would get some time off, but they needed time _away_.

“Yes, I would drive through a road trip.”

“I see.” J’s monitor faced the desktop as his radar pinged.

Once.

Twice.

On the third ping, J spoke up once more.

“So, I know you’ve already been here way longer than you meant to be, and I completely understand if you want to go home,” he said, drumming his fingers along the surface of the desk, “but would you mind staying a little longer to talk over the basics of this potential trip?”

“J, I don’t mind in the slightest.”

“Thank you,” J said, hopping to his feet and walking to a shelf. “I’ll try not to keep you too much longer.” He grabbed a notebook and hurried to sit back down. “Anyways, let’s start with scheduling. We’re booked for the next two weeks, but I’ll talk to Tatiana about giving us a week and a half off come… Let’s say October? That’s about three weeks from now.” He flipped to a random page in the notebook, despite being unable to see the pages. “Do you have any time that you absolutely don’t want to go anywhere?”

“I don’t think so. Almost everything I have planned can easily be moved,” Nova replied.

J nodded and grabbed his phone and wire from his pocket. “First ten days of October it is, then.”

Normally, after four hours of being around the same person, Nova would have been dying to get back home.

But as J plugged his phone into his monitor and muttered to himself as he typed something in, finally beginning his return to his usual upbeat demeanor after the evening he'd just endured...

Being alone at home seemed to almost pale in comparison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know all that "oooo we'll get some emotional payoff soon" I've been hinting at in the comments? This marks the beginning of it 👀
> 
> also remember that Section Of Chapters I mentioned a bit back that I was super excited to write? HERE WE GO BABEYYY


	11. Insignificant Recognitions

The buzz of the audience grew louder, reverberating off the walls of Club Planetarium. As Nova shifted the music into the next track he bobbed his head in time with the song and took a step back from his turntables.

The moment he moved, the lights began to dim throughout the venue, with only a few tiles on the floor lighting up. Slowly, the tiles began to light up more frequently as the tempo picked up, as the song changed key, and finally…

Nova looked up.

The rest of Club Planetarium went dark as white, purple, and blue lights shone up at the dome ceiling, which displayed the image of a supernova. At the sight, gasps from the audience rang throughout as Club Planetarium fell into stillness.

After what seemed like an eternity of stunned silence, one person cheered, sparking a chain reaction so intense it nearly drowned out the music.

Nova glanced back down at the crowd, all transfixed on the ceiling or dancing to the music, and stepped further back.

This display was a new one of his, and luckily, it seemed to be a hit with the audience. Truly, it was yet another example of Nova’s brilliance, in both the idea and the execution.

Yet, the true brilliance of the display was how it served the DJ.

With the lights all focused upward, Nova’s stand would be completely dark to any audience member. Normally, this was something to be avoided at all costs, but now, over halfway through the concert?

Nova would take any downtime he could get.

Turning away from the audience, Nova took a seat and glanced at his phone. His only notification was an email from Tatiana, sent about thirty minutes ago. Tapping on the email, he quickly skimmed through the block of text.

The email was short and direct, simply stating that his request for vacation time had been approved, meaning the road trip now had an official date. With a nod to himself, Nova scrolled to the bottom of the page, preparing to type up a quick response to Tatiana.

And then, his phone buzzed with an incoming call.

An incoming call from J.

Nova had barely registered J’s name on the screen when by the time he’d accepted the call, quickly bringing his phone to his head and adjusting his headphones so that they sat around his neck.

“Hello?”

“ _Hello~!_ ” J echoed, chipper as ever as he practically shouted into the phone. By the sound of the chatter of the boys in the background, it was a necessary evil. “You got Tatiana’s email, correct?”

“Ah, yes,” Nova muttered, holding his phone as close as possible so as to hear J over the music. “I was actually just about to respond to it when you called.”

“Perfect, that means you’ve read it th-” J cut himself off, with the only sound coming through being the boys and something tapping against wood.

“Wait. Are you in the middle of a concert?”

Nova shrugged, grabbing a water bottle he’d stashed on a small shelf beneath the turntables. “Technically, yes.”

The metallic sound that came through was one Nova was far too familiar with: a facepalm.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve thought about that,” J muttered, “especially considering the time and... Listen, I’ll call you back later-”

“Oh, no, It’s fine. I’m currently taking a break,” Nova said. He took a pause to listen to the music before speaking once more. “I have a few minutes left. That’s enough time for a conversation.”

J stayed silent for a moment before speaking up once more. “Are you sure?”

“Of course,” Nova hummed, leaning back in his seat. “What is it you called for?”

“Right!” J said with a mechanical whirr. “I was going to say that since Tatiana approved the time off, I let the boys know about the road trip.”

The chatter in the background of the call suddenly came to a halt as Nova tilted his head.

“Oh? How did they react?”

J let out a hearty laugh.

"Nova, this road trip is all I’m going to hear about for the next three weeks.”

Just then, Haym spoke up, calling out from someplace across from the phone.

“Wait, Pops, you're talking to the DJ?!”

Purl-Hew was the next to talk, his voice being far closer. “You should put him on speaker! I wanna say hi.”

“...Nova, would you mind if I put you on speaker?” J asked.

“Go ahead,” Nova chuckled.

For a few seconds, only shuffling came through, before there was a soft knock against wood.

“Hey, DJ!” Eloni called out.

“How’s it going?” Purl-Hew asked.

“I’m doing well, and you?” Nova said, “what have you all been up to?”

Haym was the first to reply, shouting from across the room once more. “We’re plotting!”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. We’re trying to figure out places we can go on the road trip,” Eloni said.

“Like the beach!” Purl-Hew said, “we’ve never been, so we’ve _gotta_ check it out.”

Nova tilted his head at that. “I mean, I agree, but is it safe for you boys to be exposed to that much water?”

J chuckled. “Nova, the boys’ models are made for Navy use, so-”

“The ocean is our natural habitat!” Haym snickered.

“Basically.”

“I see,” Nova muttered, setting his water bottle by his feet. “In that case, I’m sure we could find the time to stop by the beach.”

Purl-Hew let out a cheer as Eloni spoke up once more.

“Since we’re going to the beach, we’ll have to go on some hikes, too,” he muttered, “Zi mentioned a few he wanted to go on.”

“If Zi and Purl both get to see their things, then I wanna go to the Bug Dome,” Haym said.

Purl-Hew’s voice grew slightly muffled, likely from turning away from the phone. “The _what?_ ”

“It’s this thing I heard about a while back. It sounded cool.”

Eloni spoke up after a pause. “I’m pretty sure you’re thinking about one of those butterfly gardens.”

“Probably. Bug Dome sounds cooler, though.”

“But that implies that there’ll be more than one kind of bug,” Purl-Hew pointed out.

Eloni chimed in just after Purl-Hew. “And what if the building isn’t even a dome?”

“Fine,” Haym huffed, “since y’all are so picky, we could go to the Scorpion Pyramid instead!”

Purl-Hew let out a snicker. “I dunno, I think I like the Beetle Cylinder more.”

There was a shuffle before Eloni spoke up. “Hey now, we can’t forget the Ant Orb.”

As the boys’ conversation swiftly devolved into nonsense, Nova zoned out just long enough to notice his song changing key.

The song was at the part where a soft jingle played in the background, only barely audible over the prominent synth notes. If Nova remembered correctly, this was near the end of the song, and if he accounted for the time it would take to resituate himself, along with the time he’d need to seamlessly switch into the next track...

Oh no.

“J, my sincerest apologies,” Nova muttered, knocking over his water bottle as he scrambled to his feet, “but it seems I've overestimated my break.” He checked over the current lighting as he faced his turntables. “Could we speak some other time?”

“Of course!” J said, once more raising his voice to be heard over the boys. “Why don’t we meet in person next time, though?”

“Good idea,” Nova shoved his headphones back onto his head as the lights began to raise once more. “Text me about it when you can, yes?”

“Will do! I’ll talk to you later.”

“See you soon.”

Nova hung up and shifted the music into the next track, shoving his phone into his pocket just as the lights shone back on him. He put on his best performance as he got back into the rhythm of the music, bobbing along with the tune as he attempted to focus on his turntables.

Unfortunately, this task was proven to be impossible, as his mind wandered at every opportunity.

Though he was happy to hear the boys were excited for the road trip, wouldn’t that normally be a conversation to be had in person? J rarely called unless it was for something imperative, though nothing in his tone had indicated anything of the sort. Had he simply called to chat?

Nova supposed it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to assume so. They were friends, after all.

Yes, yes. That was the obvious answer.

What didn't have as obvious of an answer was why Nova continued to pay any mind to the change in routine.

* * *

Excluding Purl-Hew’s music lesson, it took an entire week before Nova could meet J in person.

Today, Nova had come out to Akusuka for one of the boys’ photoshoots. The stated purpose of the meeting was to trade notes on the satellite and to work out the route for the road trip, and on the surface, Akusuka seemed to be a decent place to do so. The District had adequate seating and places to hide, and instead of having to prepare to leave an hour early, Nova was only required to take a fifteen minutes bus ride and a five minute walk to the photoshoot.

It had all seemed so simple.

And then Nova stepped off the bus and remembered, he was walking through _Akusuka._

All those times Nova had judged the Metro Division for being an overwhelming mess, he’d been ignoring the real offender. With the bright blues and pinks of Akusuka attacking Nova in his periphery, he was forced to stare at his phone as he hurried down the street. The noise of the constant ads playing sent an itch down his spine, and the randomly placed Sayu holograms nearly gave the DJ a heart attack when accidentally stumbled upon.

Finally, a tone cut through the sensory hell as Nova’s phone indicated his arrival at the photoshoot.

Glancing upward, Nova was faced with a scene far more cluttered than he’d expected. Folding chairs and tables littered the area, nearly tripping a few of the people who buzzed between them. Lights and cameras pointed at a large screen with an image of Sayu displayed, where two women moved around a few props.

And yet, among it all, there was no immediate sign of J.

Nova attempted to focus his vision as he scanned the scene, though it was impossible to make sense of it all. Occasionally, he was forced to recheck areas he thought he’d already looked over, and he found himself accidentally skipping over entire sections of the set.

He'd just begun to wonder if he’d somehow stumbled upon the wrong photoshoot when he finally spotted a red mohawk toward the edge of the chaos.

“Zimelu!” he called out, wasting no more time in stepping onto the set and making his way toward the boy.

As Nova approached, the finer details of Zimelu came into focus as he glanced up from a book. Staring at Nova, he offered him a half-smile and an awkward wave.

“Oh. Hey,” he muttered, tilting his head at Nova drew closer. “Lemme guess, you’re looking for Dad?”

Nova nodded to the boy as he stopped in front of him, taking a moment to glance around once more. “Indeed. I’m also curious as to where the rest of your brothers might have gone.”

Zimelu nodded, his expression returning to neutrality as he set his open book on his lap.

“Dad went to talk to one of the photographers real quick. He should be back in a minute,” he said, dog-earing the page of his book.

A chill crawled down Nova's spine at the sight. J had surely raised his son better than that, hadn't he?

“As for the others," Zimelu continued, "I’m pretty sure Rin and Haym are still getting their hair done, and I _know_ Purl-Hew and Eloni are talking with the Sayu Crew.”

Nova pocketed his phone as he took a seat. “Sayu’s team is here?”

“Yeah.”

“What for?”

“We’re doing a promotional shoot. Something geared toward teens, I think.” Zimelu shrugged and closed his book. “Her team’s here to make sure the projection’s lined up with all our poses and stuff."

“I see.”

Instead of continuing the conversation, Zimelu glanced over his shoulder and squinted into the distance. He kept his hands folded over his book on his lap, and he sat with his back straight. After a few moments, he turned back around and focused on his hands as he began to drum a tune into the cover of his book.

The near-silence dug deep into Nova’s chest, leaving him squirming in his seat as he attempted to end it.

“So, Zimelu.”

Zimelu glanced up, pausing the tapping immediately.

“Yeah?”

“How have you been?” Nova asked.

A classic.

Zimelu once again shrugged, picking at the corner of the book’s cover. “I’m fine,” he muttered, breaking eye-contact and focusing on something beyond Nova.

Once again, they lapsed into a moment of silence, with Nova staring at Zimelu as he attempted to think of something else to say.

Before he could, though, Zimelu looked back to him with a frown.

“What're you doing?”

“I was simply thinking,” Nova said, glancing away. 

Zimelu’s frown deepened as he crossed his arms tight around his chest. “I’m _fine._ ”

A pang of concern jolted Nova into looking back at Zimelu.

“I wasn’t questioning that until now.”

“...Oh.”

Zimelu turned his eyes to the ground as his expression softened.

Nova tilted his head at the boy, leaning forward in his seat to get a better look at him.

“Though, now that it’s been brought to my attention, I must ask: are you _truly_ well?”

Zimelu blinked before nodding. “Yeah, sorry. I really am fine, I promise,” Zimelu said, uncrossing his arms as he looked back to Nova. “I’ve just been getting a lot of questions since the whole automatic shutdown in the front yard thing.” He glanced back down at his book with a shrug. “I mean, not that I can blame my family for being concerned after that mess, but I already told them everything. There’s nothing else to talk about.”

“Oh, so you chose to tell your family everything?”

Zimelu tilted his head as he stared up at the DJ. “Yeah. Did Dad not fill you in?”

Nova shook his head. “All I know is what happened on the security footage and what happened before I left that night. Since then, we’ve both been busy and I haven’t pushed the subject, as it’s not my place.”

“But it kinda is,” Zimelu said, making eye contact with Nova. “From what I understand, you were there for the whole ordeal, so you should know.” He took a moment to sit up straight and relax his shoulders. “I can tell you if you want.”

Nova crossed one leg over the other as he settled in. “You seem quite eager to discuss this topic.”

“That’s because I’d rather tell the actual story than have you assume my intentions like Haym and Rin did.”

“I see,” Nova said, weaving his fingers together and leaning forward. “Well then, tell me. What _were_ your intentions?"

“To get the night off,” Zimelu said with a shrug.

“By breaking your arm off and short circuiting on the electric fence?”

“No!" The android snapped out of his neutrality, his eyes widening as he frantically shook his head. "No. Lemme back up,” he sputtered out, “Okay, so, I had no intention to get hurt, but I was tired and annoyed and making impulsive decisions. My original plan was to just hop the fence and hide out in the Metro Division until the interview got cancelled.”

Nova brought a hand to his head out of pure confusion. “You didn’t think climbing the _electric fence_ would cause you harm?”

“I’ve actually bumped into it a few times by accident,” Zimelu replied. “Normally, the worst it can do is lock up my limbs if I keep contact with it too long, so I thought I’d be fine as long as I was quick.”

Nova glanced down at Zimelu's right arm. It still bore a barely visible vent near the wrist.

“And then you lost your arm?” he asked, softening his voice.

“Yup."

After a moment, Zimelu looked back up at the DJ.

“But hey,” he said, cracking a small smile, “I lived, and I even got my way in the end, sorta. I got the night off, _and_ we’ve got the road trip coming up." He paused, letting his smile fall once more as he shrugged. "I screwed up, no doubt, but that whole mess is in the past now. There’s nothing I can do but learn from it and make better decisions next time.”

Nova slowly nodded in understanding. “That’s a wise way of looking at things.”

Zimelu allowed himself a small laugh, his posture finally relaxing entirely as he leaned back. “Thanks. I stole it from my dad.”

“...I believe the word you’re looking for is ‘learned’.”

“Probably, but I like ‘stole’ better.” He chuckled, grabbing his legs and dragging them onto his chair so that he could sit cross legged. “I wouldn’t want anything getting back to Dad that would make him think I actually listen to him. I’d never hear the end of it.”

Nova took pause at that, sitting up straight as he began scanning the area. "Speaking of J, what on earth is taking him-”

Nova was cut off by a crash of metal against metal, followed by J’s voice.

“ _Fuck!_ ”

“...Nevermind.”

Nova looked behind him and found J a distance away, straightening up and kicking a folding chair out of his way as he continued to mutter swears under his breath.

Zimelu waved his hand high at his father, seemingly unfazed. “Hey Dad!” he called out, “the DJ’s here!”

“Oh!” J said, immediately snapping to attention and hurrying forward. As he drew close, his radar pinged and he turned his monitor in the approximate direction of Nova. “I didn’t keep you waiting too long, did I?”

“Not at all,” Nova said, taking to his feet. “I’ve only been here a few minutes.”

“Okay, good. Give me just one more,” J said, stopping and turning to Zimelu just before he hit another chair. “Zimelu, the photographers are about to gather everyone, you may want to start heading over to the set.”

Zimelu nodded, hopping to his feet and walking past J. “See you in a bit?”

“Affirmative!” J said with a salute. “I’ll be there soon.”

“Gotcha,” Zimelu said, giving J a thumbs up before taking off.

J fell out of his salute at that, turning to Nova.

"So," he chuckled, placing his hands on his hips, “before we start talking I should let you know: if I hear the words ‘road trip’ one more time today, my monitor’s gonna overheat and _actually_ fry my brain."

Nova tilted his head. “Have the boys really been _that_ bad about the ro-”

Nova stopped.

“...Before I continue, let me suggest ‘street cruise’ as a replacement name.”

J let out a bark of laughter.

“Nova, that’s dumb as hell. I love it.”

There was no discernible reason as to why Nova’s breath faltered.

“Anyway,” J continued, “follow me. We can talk about the _street_ cruise on the way over to the boys.”

Nova nodded, moving beside J. “Lead the way.”

J spun around on his heel and marched forward. “Oh, and one more thing. Could you let me know if I’m about to crash into another chair? They’re difficult to detect with how low they are to the ground, and I’ve already tripped over-”

Before J could finish his sentence, Nova grabbed J’s shoulder and yanked him out of the way of a chair.

“Perhaps you should focus less on chatting and more on detecting your surroundings if chairs are this big of an issue,” Nova muttered.

J simply laughed, patting the hand that lingered on his shoulder. “Why would I do that? I’ve got an alarm system now!”

Nova quickly withdrew his hand, his fingers curling in toward the palm as he forced his arm by his side.

“I can’t believe I was tricked into coming all the way out here, just so that you wouldn’t need to pay attention to where you’re going.”

J snickered and continued forward. “Nova, are you suggesting that you wouldn’t help a blind old man in his time of need under normal circumstances?”

As he shoved his hand into his pocket, Nova chuckled.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I’m just asking!”

“Anyway,” Nova said, stepping in front of J, “the street cruise.”

“Right!” J said, clasping his hands together. “Let’s start off with general stops. The boys have suggested a ton, so we’re gonna want to narrow them down before we do anything.”

“I see," Nova hummed, "go on.”

As J began chattering about a whole slew of different locations, Nova found himself slowly zoning out of the conversation and placing his attention elsewhere.

The hand he’d rested on J’s shoulder moments ago had managed to go numb, despite it feeling as though it were on fire.

* * *

“You know,” J said, tapping away at the pinpad on the other side of the side gate, “at this point, I should just give you the code to the gate.”

As the gate opened, Nova stepped onto the grounds of Baracca Mansion for the second time this week. With the road trip only one week away, the extra meeting had become necessary in order to have time to work on both the satellite and the trip.

Shutting the gate behind himself, Nova shrugged. “I’d still need to call you to let me into the house, though.”

“Damn. Good point.”

The gate clicked back into its locked state as Nova stepped away, and with that, J stood straight and began on the path back to the door.

“I guess I'll just have to figure it out later,” he said with a handwave. “Anyway, hurry up. There’s something I wanna show you before we start planning everything.”

Nova tilted his head as he followed. “Oh? What is it?”

J snickered as he flung the door open and stepped inside. “If I wanted you to know now, I would've told you!"

With a lighthearted sigh, Nova followed J through the halls. Almost immediately, the route grew unfamiliar with different turns being taken and new paintings and memorabilia hung on the walls.

Nova found himself staring at one of the portraits as he walked by, muttering, “J, I genuinely have no clue as to how you manage to avoid getting lost in this place.”

J laughed at that. “Oh, it took years of trial and error,” he said, “and even then, I still avoid the attic. The boys rearrange it too often for me to be able to reliably navigate it.”

“So you simply let the boys have complete control over the attic?”

“Pretty much. I tend to stick to the first and second levels of the house as it is, so it doesn’t bother me.” J snickered as he turned a corner. “Plus, since I let the boys have the attic, they get to be the ones to find whatever it is I may need from there. Saves me the occasional trip.”

Nova shoved his hands in his pockets as he nodded. “That's understandable.”

“I thought you’d say that,” J chuckled, pausing as his radar pinged. After a moment, he tilted his head and walked toward the open door at the end of the hall, motioning for Nova to follow. “ _This way~!_ ”

Nova followed J through the door, which led directly into a spiral staircase. J held on tight to the rail as he set off down the stairs, while Nova barely bothered with the rail.

“I didn’t realize Baracca Mansion had a basement,” Nova hummed, glancing around as his vision adjusted to the artificial lights as they descended.

J chuckled as he hurried down the last few steps of the staircase and walked toward another open door. “Oh, it doesn’t!”

_What?_

J marched straight through the door as Nova stepped off of the stairs and onto solid ground. As he tilted his head and prepared to question J, Nova stepped through the door and was silenced.

In front of him was a large, open room with concrete walls and a tall ceiling. Beside the door sat J’s motorcycle, along with a wall of shelving containing spare parts and the occasional halfway destroyed trinket. On the far end of the room stood a large, closed door, and in front of it sat a large white RV with blank accents, currently being used as a playplace by the boys. Rin sat on the roof of the RV and chattered at Eloni, who had lifted the hood of the vehicle and peered down at the engine. The rest of the boys’ voices carried through the garage, but they remained unseen.

“I got the RV for the trip!” J exclaimed, striking a pose as he pointed in the approximate direction of the motorhome.

Immediately, both Rin and Eloni glanced up from their conversation. Rin only offered a blank (and thankfully, nonthreatening) stare while Eloni grinned and waved to Nova.

As Nova waved back to Eloni, J set off toward the RV.

“I know it’s probably not as exciting as you may have hoped, but I wanted to show you before we started talking about anything. You deserve to know what you'll be working with during the trip,” J said, the pings of his radar echoing throughout the garage.

“Well, I’m certainly glad to have seen it,” Nova said, hurrying after J. “However, isn’t it a little early to rent?”

“It’s not rented,” Rin said, completely deadpan as he sprawled across the roof of the RV.

Nova stopped dead in his tracks.

“J,” he muttered calmly, “you bought an _entire RV?_ ”

J spun around and saluted Nova. “Affirmative!”

“ _Why?_ ”

“Why not?” J asked, turning around and continuing toward the RV. “I didn’t want to deal with the renting services, so I decided to buy one instead!”

“As if that’s easier,” Nova scoffed. “How’d you even get it down here? I thought you couldn’t drive.”

“Easy, I paid one of our longtime limo drivers to get it here.”

Before Nova could question J further, Haym scrambled out of the RV. His already large eyes were unnaturally wide as he pointed to Nova and straightened up.

“Okay, DJ, I know you’re probably talking to Dad but you can see and I need you to get in here and be the tiebreaker for the curtains!”

Nova brought a hand to where his temples would have been.

"I'm sorry?"

Purl-Hew poked his head out of the door at that, wearing a grin. “Haym hates the built in curtains, so he’s gonna make new ones.”

“You should pick the polka dots. They’re nice,” Eloni said, smiling at Nova as he glanced up from the engine.

“Wrong!” Zimelu’s voice called out from inside the motorhome. “The stripes are objectively better.”

Haym crossed his arms as he hurried back into the RV, with Purl-Hew hopping out of his way at the last moment. “Stop trying to influence the vote, y’all already got yours!”

“Well, I guess now’s as good a time as any for you to see the interior,” J chuckled, heading toward the RV.

Nova shrugged. “I suppose so,” he said, following J into the vehicle.

Stepping inside the RV for the first time was certainly an experience. The interior was of a modern design, with silver and white composing the majority of the color scheme, along with black and dark gray accents. The roof sat just a little too low for comfort, leaving Nova close to bumping his head on the roof while J had to hunch over. Haym stood next to the couch by the window with two bolts of fabric, Purl-Hew was just settling into the passenger’s seat, and Zimelu lay in the loft bed above the driver and passenger seats, reading a book.

As Nova stepped aside to better survey the cabin, Purl-Hew began chattering.

“Hey, Zi, would you be willing to share the loft bed if I got a pet crab from the beach?” he asked, knocking on the loft bed from below.

Zimelu closed his book and leaned over the edge of the loft bed, squinting at his brother. “You are _not_ bringing a crab into this thing.”

“How about a turtle?”

“If I have to share a bunk with it, I get to name it.”

Purl-Hew grinned, pushing his shades onto his forehead as he held out a fist to Zimelu. “Deal!”

As the two fist bumped, J sighed loudly and turned to the boys.

"So," he announced, "I was originally going to save this for when we were on the road, but I guess I’m going to have to give you the ‘don’t fuck with the wildlife’ speech now.”

Purl-Hew’s grin fell into pure heartbreak as Zimelu narrowed his eyes at his father.

Just as J began his speech, Haym caught Nova's eye.

“DJ! Over here,” he said, motioning Nova over as J began his speech.

Nova nodded and walked over to Haym, who held up both bolts of fabric. One was a pastel orange with lavender and yellow stripes, while the other was a true blue with white polka dots.

"These are the two options?"

Haym snickered. "No, these are two random bolts of fabric I found lying around in the brand new RV."

"Congratulations," Nova deadpanned. "Anyway, I'd say I prefer-"

“Wait! Before you pick, I should tell you now that I’m gonna sew both patterns differently,” Haym said, dumping the bolts of fabric back onto the couch. “For the polka dots, I’d make them in an eyelet pattern, while the stripes are probably gonna be pinch pleats. Also, I’m adding flair no matter what! I haven’t exactly decided _what_ the flair’s gonna be for each one, but I was thinking maybe some bedangles for the polka dots, but the stripes are gonna be a bit trickier…”

Nova found himself nodding along as he attempted to listen to Haym, but J’s voice somehow managed to cut through the conversation, forcing Nova to zone into his conversation with Zimelu and Purl-Hew.

The oddest part of it all was that J was no louder than Haym. In fact, from where Nova stood, Haym was far louder than his father.

So then, what made it so terribly difficult to stop listening to J’s voice?

* * *

“J, you cannot truthfully tell me that we need not one, not two, but _seven_ qwazas for this trip,” Nova sighed, staring at the tower of qwazas just beside the RV.

“I can, actually!” J replied, grabbing Nova’s custom black and gold suitcase and hauling it into the RV. His voice carried into the garage as he continued, “Since the boys can’t share, they need one qwaza each so they can charge at night, add another qwaza for my prosthetics, and then an extra qwaza for charging devices on the road.” He popped his head out of the RV moments later. “And that’s just the bare minimum! If we had decided to take a more scenic route away from civilization, I would’ve doubled the qwaza count just for safety’s sake. Not to mention, I also chose not to bring an extra qwaza for-”

“I think I understand well enough now, thank you. I was simply shocked by the number we'd be bringing,” Nova said, grabbing four qwazas from the tower and tucking them under his arms. "As long as we have room for them, though, I don’t care how many are brought along. We just need to find out where they'll go.”

"Ah, okay!" J hopped out of the RV at that and hurried over to the three remaining qwazas. “Try putting a couple in the cabinets if you can. We can figure out the rest.”

“We already put all of the camping chairs in the cabinets,” Nova said, stepping into the motorhome. Multiple suitcases had been shoved into any space they could be, along with camping supplies, two beanbags, and far too many blankets and pillows.

“Try putting one in the oven, then?” J called out, “I think at least one should be able to fit in there, and it’s not like we’ll be using it all the time.”

After getting a glance at the oven, Nova sighed.

“I won’t be doing that,” Nova said, kicking a fallen pillow out of his way. “Aside from the obvious safety hazards, it seems one of the boys has already shoved an entire beanbag in the oven.”

“Versus half a beanbag?”

“You know what I mean.”

J snickered as he stepped into the RV, holding the last three qwazas in front of him as his radar pinged. “Okay, since none of those spots work, let’s just dump them in the bedroom. I’m tired of actually having to think about where we’re putting shit.”

“Well then, you’re in luck,” Nova said, heading to the back of the RV and into the bedroom. He wasted no time in kneeling down and setting the qwazas in the nearest corner of the room. “I believe the qwazas are the last thing we had to pack.”

J followed Nova into the room, dropping the qwazas on the floor as he let out a sigh of relief. “Thank god!” he said, placing his hands on his hips. “Seriously, we’ve been at this for way too long. It’s getting late-”

“J, it’s 10pm.”

“And I have to be up at five hundred hours, sharp!” J said, turning on his heel and marching straight out of the RV.

“Why you would choose to wake up at such a time is beyond me,” Nova muttered, following J and shutting the RV door behind him. “We aren’t actually leaving until nine.”

“It’s for a last minute security check,” J shrugged, walking toward the door leading to the staircase. “I have to check the locks on every window, make sure the alarms are working, and have all the security cameras charged.”

Nova tilted his head as they began to climb the staircase. “And that takes four hours?”

“It _could_ ,” J said, “it'll probably only take an hour and a half, but I want the extra time as a buffer in case something goes wrong.”

“I suppose I understand, but why couldn’t such a security check have been done today?” Nova asked as they both reached the top of the staircase and began down the halls. “Or better yet, yesterday? Why wait until tomorrow, of all days?”

At that, J let out a chuckle.

“Oh, I checked everything yesterday _and_ today.” His radar pinged as he turned down a hall. “Tomorrow’s just the triple check, in case anything got moved or unlocked over the past two days.”

“Is such a thing really that common?”

“No, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

“Fair.”

A comfortable quiet fell over the rest of the walk, with the only noise coming from both sets of footsteps and the occasional ping of J’s radar. Slowly, the halls grew familiar once more as they reached the side door.

“Before you go,” J said, unlocking one of the three deadbolts on the door with a practiced swiftness, “thanks for coming over to go over the last minute preparations. It was a big help to me.”

Nova nodded as the door opened, stepping outside with J into the slightly cooler night air. “I mean, you’re welcome,” he said, following J down the path to the gate, “it was nothing, though. You really needn’t thank me for-”

“Yes, I do.” J muttered, stopping as they reached the gate. The green glow of his radar faced Nova down as he turned around and folded his arms behind his back. “I don’t know if you know this, but the boys haven’t been this excited for something in _ages_ , and it wouldn’t have been possible without your help. You came up with the idea, offered to drive, and then proceeded to help plan at every turn.” J paused for just a moment, placing his arms by his side as he laughed. “If anything, I haven’t thanked you enough.”

“J, I don’t require spoken thanks in return for assisting a friend,” Nova muttered, bringing a hand to the back of his head. “I’m just happy to know that the boys are excited and that things were made easier for you.”

For a brief moment, J stood completely still.

With the ping of his radar, jumped back to life and marched straight to the pinpad, tapping in the code. “Still,” he said, letting out a chuckle that came out a little quiet, “please know I appreciate the help.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good.”

J stepped away from the pinpad as the gate unlocked and fell open.

“Well then,” Nova sighed, making his way toward the gate, “I suppose I’d best be off-”

Just before Nova stepped off the grounds of Baracca Mansion, a cold, metallic hand rested on his shoulder.

“Wait, Nova.”

Nova turned around to find J’s monitor just a little too close, turned down to face him.

The air drained from Nova’s lungs, forcing him to get out a word while he still could.

“Yes?”

As J’s radar pinged once more, he patted Nova on the shoulder and stepped back to salute him. “Have a safe trip. I’ll see - well, _hear_ \- you tomorrow," he said, taking another step back as he broke his salute. "Remember, 8:30 sharp!”

Nova simply nodded, taking a moment to find his breath once more.

“Indeed,” he muttered, “I’ll see you tomorrow, J. Please attempt to get some rest before then.”

With a laugh, J waved. “You too.”

With that, Nova turned away and stepped through the gate, closing it behind him. He waved to J in return as he hurried down the path toward the street.

Only when he reached the main street did Nova stop to lean against a neon structure that he couldn't quite discern the details of. He took a sharp breath into his lungs, which burned painlessly in the night air. He brought a hand to his face, attempting to rid his vision of the stars that only grew in number, only to find the orb that functioned as his head feeling far too warm to the touch.

Had he contracted some sort of illness? No, that made no sense. Nova would have felt under the weather in some sort of way before now if that were the case. It was more likely he'd forgotten a meal, or perhaps he’d simply had too much coffee and too little sleep once more, leading to lightheadedness. Maybe he was simply having a bad day, was all.

Yet, none of those options quite explained the rapid heartbeat, the fuzziness of his senses, or, most confusing of all, why Nova didn’t quite hate the feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg guys i haven't updated since LAST YEAR :'( SMH IM SO SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONGGG
> 
> Seriously though, happy new year everyone! Things got a little crazy for me around Christmas (our wifi krunked itself and my sister's birthday is a few days after christmas) so this chapter took FOREVER. However, now that I'm past Christmas, we're back on track for normalcy, babey!
> 
> In other news, this chapter was kinda cool to write! It has the most breaks in out of any of the chapters written thus far, which is neat. I was kinda nervous writing it with just how much time elapses over the course of this chapter, but I feel like it came out alright! :)
> 
> Anyway, thank you all for your support! Here's to the new year! <3


	12. Snapshot

When Nova had first offered to drive the length of the road trip, he’d known what to expect from the boys. Constant jabbering with a dash of bickering, and perhaps they’d sprinkle in the occasional question directed at himself or J. It was nothing new to Nova, and while the incessant blabbering had the potential to grow old at some point, there were plenty of ways to block out their noise. In a best-case scenario, Nova could easily focus on the road and tune the boys out. If they were a little too noisy, perhaps he’d turn on the radio to obscure their noise.

Whatever happened, though, Nova had prepared himself.

Or so he’d thought.

One thing Nova hadn’t foreseen was Rin, Eloni, and Haym singing nonstop for the past hour.

That was right. Over the two and a half hour long ride, the boys’ singing had taken up forty percent of it.

At first, the singing hadn’t been much of an issue. The boys were by no means tone deaf, and the songs they picked were always 1010 songs, meaning they were catchy enough. As one may expect, however, it had become a minor nuisance at around the fourth song in a row, though the noise was still easily tuned out at the time.

By the seventh song, it had begun to grow grating, with the beginnings and ends of each song blurring together.

He’d stopped counting after the tenth song, just after pondering whether or not he’d ever be able to properly listen to music again.

And yet, despite the unending cacophony coming from the back of the RV, Nova held his tongue. This vacation was for the boys, and if they wanted to sing, he’d let them.

At the very least, J’s near-constant chatter had offered a bit of reprieve for Nova. His voice managed to carry over those of his boys as he talked about whatever came to his mind, and the topic changed just often enough to keep Nova’s interest. It was the perfect distraction, allowing Nova to listen to something, _anything_ other than the neverending melody. It was also, quite possibly, the only thing that had kept Nova from running the RV into a ditch by this point.

Unfortunately, after a wrong turn several minutes prior, J had gone quiet.

The only sound that came from J now was a constant tapping as he attempted to focus on his phone and figure out the GPS. Because of this, Nova had been left with nothing but his thoughts and the winding forest road to help him block out the music.

By the sound of the boys singing the chorus of their latest pick, neither of these things had proven to be particularly helpful.

“ _And with our sights on you~_ ” Rin sang out, only to suddenly cut himself. Thankfully, both Eloni and Haym stopped with him.

After a brief pause, Rin spoke up once more and used his normal speaking voice to ask, “Haym, isn’t that Purl-Hew’s harmony?”

“Yeah?”

“Why aren’t you singing your own harmony?

“Because I prefer the way Purl-Hew’s sounds,” Haym replied.

“I mean, I understand, but you should still probably stay on your own harmony. Just in case.”

“Dude, it’s not like he’s using it. Who cares?”

“I know he’s not using it,” Rin sighed, the eye roll audible in his voice. “It’s just, what if, during a concert, you mix up-”

“Hey!” Haym called out, cutting off Rin. “Purl! Do you care if I burglarize your harmonies in Crosshairs for the next two minutes?”

“Sorry, I can’t hear you!” Purl-Hew shouted back. “I turned off my audio receptors forty minutes ago. Please leave a message!”

“See! He could care less.”

“Well, _I_ care!”

“Rin, it’s not like we’re performing to an audience,” Eloni said with a soft chuckle. “The world isn’t going to implode because Haym sang the wrong harmony.”

After a moment of silence, Rin sighed. “Yeah. Okay. I guess you’re right,” he muttered, “anyway, I wanna continue. Should we start from the top?”

“Nah,” Haym replied, “let’s just start from the beginning of the chorus.”

“Okay, cool, I’ll start us,” Rin said, shuffling around for a moment before speaking once more in a tempo, “one and two and…”

“ _Aha_!”

The boys were - thankfully - cut off as J slammed his phone into the dashboard, pulling the cord from his monitor. Not even a moment later, he leaned halfway across Nova’s lap and pointed his free arm to the right, with his arm directly in Nova’s face.

“Turn here!”

“J, you’re in the way!” Nova cried out. He wasted no time in attempting to bat J back into his own seat, swatting at his arm as he gripped the steering while tight with his free hand.

“And _you’re_ about to miss another turn!”

At that, the turn in the road became just visible past J’s arm, forcing Nova to swerve to the right in order to make it. From the momentum alone, something fell over toward the back of the motorhome, and J fell back into his own seat.

A chorus of mechanical whirrs came from the back as Nova straightened the RV out on the road. Meanwhile, J sat still in his seat, his radar pinging.

For just a moment, a stunned and somewhat puzzled silence rang throughout the RV.

“...J.”

J turned to Nova in an instant.

“Yes?”

“Is it a personal goal of yours to attempt to crash every vehicle you come into contact with?”

At that, J let out a laugh. “Only when you’re around, it seems!”

The lightheadedness that followed must have been the adrenaline from the sudden turn.

Before Nova could respond, J kicked his feet up onto the dashboard as he tucked his phone into his coat pocket. He chuckled, turning his monitor toward Nova as he said, “Anyway, Nova, from here you just need to continue forward for about-”

As J spoke, a large sign came into view, indicating the trailhead to be to the left.

“For about three seconds, apparently, ” Nova chuckled, turning to the left and driving down a small road.

“Damn! That was quick!”

Driving down the small stretch of road, the RV was eventually led into a decently large parking lot, only halfway full. Hazy beams of sunlight bounced off of the plants that lined the lot, while more concentrated beams reflected off the surfaces of vehicles. The trailhead stood on the far edge of the lot, just before a wall of trees, and a small gift shop stood not too far from it. Despite the number of cars, no pedestrians were in the lot as Nova pulled into a parking space.

The moment Nova stopped the vehicle, there was a shuffling noise as Haym gasped.

“Hey, they’ve got a gift shop!”

“Wait,” Zimelu chimed in, “really?!”

Not even a second later, there was a thud just behind the driver’s area, shaking the RV. Glancing behind him, Nova watched as Zimelu scrambled onto his feet from the ground and hurried over to the window beside Haym.

“We’ll check it out _after_ the hike,” J said, chuckling as he took to his feet. “Speaking of which, make sure you all have your phones on you before we start, as well as anything else you may want to bring. When you’ve gotten everything together, go wait outside, please.”

Each of the boys looked to J, offering variations of nods, salutes, and a thumbs up from Zimelu.

“Yes, sir!”

With that, J nodded. Before moving, though, he turned to Nova.

“I’ll grab our backpacks. Could you keep an eye on the boys and make sure they don’t get lost or something in the meantime?”

“Yes, of course.”

“ _Thank you~!_ ” J sang out with a laugh, patting Nova on the shoulder before walking to the bedroom.

The adrenaline from the turn had to have worn off by now.

And yet, nothing else could have explained why Nova’s heart skipped a beat.

...He’d think about that later.

By the time Nova stood up, Haym had already rushed out the door, with Zimelu only taking a moment to check his pockets before following his brother. Purl-Hew spent a few seconds putting his headphones away before heading outside, leaving behind Eloni, who took a moment to close the polka dot curtains, and Rin, who scavenged through the drawers in the kitchen area.

While Eloni and Rin fiddled around in the RV, Nova rolled his shoulders and stepped outside.

Immediately, the humidity of the outdoors hit Nova like a brick wall. Before he took another step, he took his jacket off and tossed it into the driver’s seat, leaving him with only the aloha shirt he’d worn underneath. After that, he finally stepped onto the pavement and scanned the area.

Unsurprisingly, Purl-Hew and Haym had already taken to goofing around in the empty sections of the parking lot. Zimelu, however, stood only a few steps in front of Nova, staring at the forest ahead.

“It’s striking, is it not?” Nova asked, standing beside the boy.

“...I didn’t even realize there could be so many plants in one place,” Zimelu muttered, turning and staring at Nova with wide eyes. “I mean, I’ve seen pictures of forests before, and I’ve been to the nurseries in Natura. But _this_?” He motioned to the trailhead. “I can hardly believe it actually exists in real life.”

Nova simply nodded at that, staring into the forest ahead. “Well, it does, and I’m sure you’ll grow accustomed to it all over the course of this trip,” he said, glancing back at Zimelu.

The boy’s eyebrows twitched downward.

“God, I hope not.”

At that, three pairs of metal footsteps sounded from behind.

“Hey, Nova!”

“Yes?”

Nova turned around just in time to catch the backpack thrown directly at his face.

As Zimelu snickered at Nova and Rin and Eloni ran off to join their brothers, J stood still. He already wore his own backpack and held a walking stick in his right hand. He lacked his coat, which he must have taken off in the car, revealing a sleeveless red turtleneck he had apparently been wearing underneath.

It was… New.

“Ah, thanks,” Nova muttered, putting the backpack on.

“No problem!” J replied, walking over to Nova and standing slightly closer than one would normally. After a moment, he turned his monitor to Nova, angling it downward just slightly. “Anyway, I’d say we’re about ready to go. What do you think?”

Instead of stepping back, Nova stood his ground and nodded. “I’d be inclined to agree.”

“Perfect.”

J straightened his back and placed his free hand on his hip. “Alright, boys!” he called out, marching straight for the trailhead. “ _Attention!_ ”

Immediately, all of the boys stopped what they were doing and saluted, staring at their father for three seconds before running over and surrounding him as they threw rapidfire questions at him. As Nova followed from a slight distance, he managed to catch some of the chatter.

“So, we’re starting now?!”

“Hey Dad, do we have to _stay_ on the trail?”

“Can we go up ahead without you and Mr. Nova?”

“I heard people sometimes walk their dogs on trails! Do we have permission to pet them if the owners are fine with it?”

“Okay, so, let’s say if a bird _just so happens_ to become my best friend-”

“Before we start, I have three major rules for you all,” J said, stopping at the trailhead. He raised his index finger with a flourish. “First! Stay on the trail. It’s unsafe to go wandering in the forest unless you’re experienced, which you all are not.”

Zimelu frowned at that, but he nodded.

“Second!” J raised a second finger. “Stay _safe_ on the trail. You all can go ahead, but you need to have at least one other person with you. If you’ve gone so far ahead that you can’t hear the group behind you, you’ve gone too far. Also, stop at forks in the trail until everyone gets there. Is this understood?”

J waited until the boys all mumbled an agreement, at which he nodded.

“Good. Let’s move on.” He raised a third finger. “Third, _respect_ the trail. Don’t touch the wildlife, and don’t set anything on fire.”

“Can we pet dogs though?” Eloni asked, “they aren’t wildlife, so…”

“If the owners are alright with it, then yes.”

Eloni grinned as he fistbumped Haym.

“So,” Zimelu said, tilting his head, “can we go, now?”

“Actually, I need you all to wait just one more minute!” J chuckled, slipping his backpack onto one shoulder and unzipping the front pocket with his free hand. “I wanna get a picture of everyone.”

The boys, aside from Rin, let out a chorus of groans.

“Pops, at this rate, we’re _never_ gonna get to the hike,” Haym said, crossing his arms.

“Oh, calm down. You’ll be fine,” J said, pulling his phone and wire from the backpack as he motioned to the trailhead sign. “Now, all of you go stand over there. The sooner I’ve taken a photo, the sooner we can start.”

Rin was the first to run over to the sign, putting on a genuine smile as he posed front and center. Eloni was the second to make his way over, leading to the rest of the boys following suit. As the boys worked on figuring out their poses, a ping came from J’s radar just before he turned to the DJ.

“Nova, you too.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I said I wanted a picture of _everyone_ ,” J said, chuckling as he motioned to the sign. “That includes you.”

“Oh,” Nova muttered. He glanced at the boys, who all shuffled around as they tried out a variety of poses, before looking back to J. “What about you?”

J’s monitor faced Nova as he grabbed his phone and wire from his backpack. “What about me?”

“Will you be getting a photo with the boys, too?”

“I’m the one taking the pictures, Nova,” J laughed. With that, he connected his monitor to his phone, only to cut himself off as he tilted his head and began tapping at the screen.

“Yes, I understand that,” Nova sighed, bringing a hand to his face. “I could take a photo of you with the boys, however.”

For one moment, J froze.

In the next moment, he returned to tapping at the phone, this time more frantically.

“Oh, no. It’s alright,” He said, bringing his phone closer to his monitor as if he’d suddenly be able to see it. “One set of photos is enough. Plus, I want to get this hike started!” He began clicking the power button repeatedly. “...As soon as I get my phone to work, that is.”

Nova tilted his head at that, peering over J’s shoulder. “Oh? What about it isn’t working?”

“I can’t tell. I can’t connect to it properly,” J sighed, unplugging the wire from his monitor as he offered Nova his phone. “I can’t tell if it’s an issue with the wire or the phone itself.”

Nova glanced down at the device as he took it, revealing the cellphone to be horribly disfigured. Whether the screen was dark or not was impossible to tell behind the web of cracks that spread across it, and the phone itself had actually been bent at a slight angle just down the middle.

“...J,” Nova muttered, flipping the device over in his palms, “just how much force did you use when you slammed this thing into the dashboard earlier?”

“Oh god,” J groaned, leaning backward and tilting his monitor to the sky as he brought both hands to his screen. “How bad is it?”

“With its current shape, it could pass as a flip phone.”

At that, J’s palms curled into fists as his shoulders shook. Instead of speaking, however, he simply took a deep breath and dropped his arms by his sides as his shoulders slumped forward.

“Well, damn.”

In that moment, only one thing carried on J’s voice: absolute defeat.

“Hey, Captain!” Rin called out, catching Nova’s attention. “Is everything alright?”

J jumped back to attention immediately, turning to Rin and nodding. “Affirmative! There’s just been some technical difficulties,” he said, folding his arms behind his back. “My phone’s broken, so I won’t be able to get a picture of you boys. You’re all free start hiking now, if you like.” He forced out a laugh as he waved to the boys. “Just remember to follow the rules.”

The boys wasted no time in booking it to the trail, leaving only Rin behind as they all shouted and jabbered at each other. Rin only lingered for only a moment, looking over Nova and J with what seemed to be a hint of genuine curiosity. After a few seconds, however, he turned at a ninety degree angle and followed after his brothers.

As Rin left for the trail, J’s radar pinged and he deflated.

“Here, Nova, hand me my phone back,” he sighed, holding out his hand. “I’ll throw it away later.”

Nova nodded, dropping the cellphone back into J’s hand.

As J shoved the remains of his phone back into his backpack, an oddly heavy feeling grew in Nova’s chest. Something between a reserved disappointment on J’s behalf, mixed with something far more nebulous. That something shifted and warped itself, tightening around Nova’s lungs and throat, almost forcing him to speak.

“If you’d like,” Nova muttered, finding himself surprisingly short on breath, “I could head into town and get you another phone. You could hike with the boys in the meantime, and I’d be back long before you were done with the trail. Perhaps I could even meet with you and the boys on your way back and-”

“Absolutely not!” J cried out, turning his monitor to Nova as he slammed his walking stick into the ground.

Nova fell completely silent as he stared at J, taken aback by the force behind J’s response.

After a second, J brought his free hand to his monitor and sighed. “Nova, I don’t know if you understand this, but this is your vacation too. I’m not about to make you miss out on an entire hike because I broke my own phone.” He took his hand away from his face and leaned on his walking stick. “Besides, I can get a new phone when we pass through town tomorrow. I’ll live with being _actually_ blind for twenty-four hours.”

Nova supposed he understood where J came from, but he couldn’t shake the _thing_ twisting in his chest.

Without his phone, J would miss out on every sight to see on the hike. Though it was likely J wouldn’t have taken pictures of anything and everything, he at least would have gotten small snippets of the hike under normal circumstances. Now, though? Everything, from the viewpoint to the small oddities in nature would be lost to him.

However, what Nova considered to be worst of all was that J hadn’t even gotten a picture of his boys yet.

“...Anyway,” J muttered, adjusting the straps on his backpack, “let’s get moving before the boys leave us in the dust, yes?”

“Oh, yes. Right,” Nova replied, straightening his back. “Let’s be off.”

J let out a slightly strained laugh, lifting his walking stick up as he pointed ahead. “Alright. Forward, then!” He said, marching straight for the trail.

As Nova followed close after J, he reached for his own phone sitting in his breast pocket.

J wouldn’t be able to take pictures with his own phone as of now, and there was no chance he’d ever accept the offer to borrow Nova’s.

So, perhaps it would be best to look into other options.

“Boys!” J called out, turning down the path with an oddly fluid motion. “Wait up just a bit, alright? Unlike you, Nova and I have lungs to deal with!”

As one of the boys responded in the distance, Nova opened up the camera feature on his phone, taking a photo of a particularly mossy stump that caught his eye before hurrying after J.

If Nova could periodically take pictures of the hike, he’d be able to present them to J later, when he had time to actually look them over. Sure, it may lead to minor setbacks. There would be plenty of catching up on Nova’s behalf, and it could potentially slow the hike down by a few minutes. Plus, he doubted it would be good on his back, leaning over to get a good angle of whatever caught his eye.

Despite these potential setbacks, though, it was the best plan of action Nova could think of.

Therefore, it’s what he would do.

* * *

The afternoon sun beat down upon Nova’s back as the roar of falling water overtook his hearing. A fine mist hung in the air, forming a rainbow just in front of where Nova stood, which was just a few steps back from the edge of the railing at the viewpoint. Beyond the metal bars stood a waterfall, sparkling and shining as rays of sun hit the water, reflecting light that almost blinded at times.

It was the perfect picture.

Nova held his phone up as he attempted to align the picture on the screen with the view that stood before him, taking a moment to let the camera focus and to steady his arm. Finally, just as everything evened out, Nova took a series of photos.

And, as he’d come to expect, one of the boys had wormed his way into the picture by the third snapshot.

At around one third of the way up to the viewpoint, Nova and J had managed to catch up with Eloni and Purl-Hew, who had split into their own group. It had only taken a few minutes for them both to take notice of Nova’s sudden interest in photography, and it had taken even less time for them to make it their goal to photobomb _every_ photo Nova took. Then, once they’d caught on to Nova’s unwillingness to speak about the photos around their father, they spread their plan to the rest of the boys, leading to photos where almost all five of the boys had managed to get in.

The boys all seemed to think they were playing some sort of prank and causing problems.

In reality, Nova didn’t mind this in the slightest.

If anything, it was actually somewhat assuming, watching the boys scramble in front of the camera at the last possible moment. In addition to this, it actually made Nova’s job easier, as he gathered pictures of both the scenery _and_ the boys at the same time.

Speaking of the boys, which one had run over this time?

Glancing over the edge of his phone, Nova stared at Purl-Hew, who grinned back at him.

“Did I make it?!” he asked, shouting over the waterfall as he hurried over to Nova and looked over his shoulder.

Nova chuckled at Purl-Hew, swiping to the two photos of the waterfall that lacked his presence. “You were a bit slower than usual. Normally, you’re in by the second photo.”

“Hey, I was distracted,” Purl-Hew replied, holding up his hands in defense. “Zi got all excited over a leaf and wouldn’t let me go.”

“Did he, now?”

“Yeah.” Purl-Hew motioned to Zimelu, who sat a small distance with a large, broad leaf in his hands as he excitedly jabbered at J, who simply nodded along. “Apparently it’s unique and the first leaf of its kind he’s seen today?” He shrugged. “I dunno. I don’t really get plants.”

Nova nodded in agreement. “Seconded,” he said, tucking his phone in his breast pocket. “I prefer the study of that which lies beyond this planet.”

“Yeah, I know,” Purl-Hew chuckled. After a moment, however, he cut himself off as his eyes went wide. “Oh! By the way! Dad wanted to talk to you about something before I pawned Zimelu off to him.”

“I see. I suppose I’d best go chat with him, then,” Nova muttered, turning away from the waterfall. Before he walked away, however, he turned to Purl-Hew and lowered his voice. “Though, would you do me a favor in the meantime?”

Purl-Hew tilted his head. “Yeah, what’s up?” he asked, matching Nova’s volume.

“I would like to get a proper photo of you all before we head down. Do you think you’d be able to gather your brothers here before then?”

An expression that could best be described as a barely suppressed smirk found its way onto Purl-Hew’s face. “And I’m guessing you don’t want Dad to hear about it?”

“...I’d prefer that, yes.”

Purl-Hew laughed, allowing himself a full grin as he nodded. “Gotcha!” He said, offering Nova a thumbs up as he hurried over to Eloni.

With that, Nova made his way over to J.

It took until Nova was only a few steps away from J and Zimelu to hear their conversation over the waterfall, and even then, their voices seemed muffled. However, he just managed to hear bits of Zimelu’s chatter.

“Wait, wouldn’t they have plant books?” he asked, staring at the leaf in awe. “The ones for identification?”

“They may,” J replied with a shrug, somehow sounding interested in the conversation. “It’s not uncommon for hiking trail gift shops to carry them.”

Zimelu took to his feet instantly, dropping the leaf as he stared down the path they’d come from twenty minutes prior. “ _I want one._ ”

“If they have plant books in the gift shop, you can have them,” J chuckled, standing as well. “If they don’t, I’ll order you some when we get home.”

Zimelu turned to his father with wide eyes, a true smile lighting up his face. “You’re serious?”

J nodded as he rolled his shoulders. “Yes, of course.”

In the next moment, Zimelu became a blur as he rushed his father, grabbing him and pulling him into a tight hug.

“Thanks, Dad!”

J stood silent for a split second, his radar pinging rapidly as his fingers tensed at his sides. After taking a breath, though, J embraced his son in return, patting Zimelu on the back.

“ _Hey, Zi_!”

Zimelu tore away from his father at that, turning to the source of the shout: Haym. He stood next to Purl-Hew and waved Zimelu over.

“ _There’s something cool we wanna show you_!”

Zimelu, instead of shouting back, gave Haym a thumbs up. “I’m gonna go see what Haym wants,” he said, picking his leaf up off the ground. Before he made his way to his brothers, however, he looked to Nova and stared him dead on with a slight smile. “Hey, DJ.”

And with that, he was off.

“Oh, hello Nova!”

J turned in Nova’s direction with the ping of his radar, walking over to him as he folded his arms behind his back.

“So, I was thinking,” he said, “a few minutes before we head back down? Or did you want to stay a bit longer to rest?”

“No, I agree with your assessment,” Nova said, glancing over to the edge of the viewpoint. “If we stay any longer, I’d likely end up doing nothing but stare at the waterfall for an entire hour.”

J chuckled as he nodded. “It’s quite the view, isn’t it?”

“Most definite-” Nova paused the moment he actually thought about what J had just said. “Wait a moment, how would you know that?”

“Oh, did I forget to tell you?” J asked, bringing a hand to his monitor.

“I believe so.”

With a nod, J began walking to the railing at the edge of the viewpoint. “Then I owe you an explanation!” He said, turning around and leaning backward against the railing. “I actually hiked this trail a few times in my youth, back before I lost my eyes. I remember everything pretty well.”

“I take it this hike was a favorite of yours, then?” Nova asked, following J. He stopped a short distance away from the edge, to avoid staring down at the drop.

“Funnily enough, no!” J placed his elbows on the railing in a relaxed manner. “I only picked this one because it’s an easy day hike with a reward at the top for the boys. My favorite trails often took a few days to complete.”

“Oh?” Nova hummed, “such as?”

J laughed, clasping his hands together. “Well, there was this one trail to the northeast of here, near the coast. It was a four day trail, two days out, two days back, and it was known for its sights.” He paused, turning his monitor toward the waterfall as his radar pinged. “I was supposed to hike it with a few friends, but they all cancelled due to the projected weather in the area. Twenty-two year old me, however, was a dumbass, and decided to hike the trail anyways.”

Nova tilted his head.

“By the way you word it, I’m assuming the forecast was correct?”

“I ended up taking five days on the hike. It rained four of them.”

Nova found himself wincing at that.

“And this was one of your _favorites_?”

“Affirmative,” J said, speaking in a slightly softer tone than normal.

“ _How_?”

“Because even in the rain, the scenery was something to behold.” J paused, bringing his arm to his monitor to wipe away the mist that had gathered there, only to end up smearing it around.

He didn’t seem to notice, however, as he continued, “The one time it didn’t rain was the day I made it to the overlook, the penultimate section of the hike. The sky had only a few slivers of blue, and the air was humid and made my hair stick to my face all day, but I’ll never forget the view.” J drummed his fingers against the railing. “It was a hillside overlooking the sea, and all of the flowers had just come into bloom. The wind kept some of the humidity at bay, and I could taste the sea in the air. It was beautiful.”

Nova slowly nodded, dumbfounded as he stared at J from a few steps away.

“It sounds as though you had quite the time when you were younger.”

J let out a soft chuckle as he shrugged in response. “Oh, not really. I didn’t actually do much outside of woodcarving and fiddling around in the woods.”

“I’d still call that exciting,” Nova muttered, taking a step forward.

With that, J seemed to break out of his nostalgia-induced trance, his monitor snapping over to Nova as he tilted it to the side. “Nova,” he chuckled, “what kind of young adulthood did you have if _that_ sounds exciting to you?”

Before Nova could respond, a rapid motion in his periphery caught his attention.

In front of the railing near the waterfall, the boys had all gathered. Purl-Hew and Haym both waved their arms around, motioning for Nova to come closer.

Nova held up a finger to the boys, indicating for them to give him just a moment as he looked back to J. “I was a student, so I spent most of my time studying. It was all rather uneventful.” He shifted in his seat as his vision flicked toward the boys. “Anyway, I think it’s about time we begin heading back down.”

J jumped away from the railing at that, standing close to Nova as his radar pinged. “Oh! I should go put my backpack back together again, then.”

“You go do that,” Nova said, already moving away. “I’ll go collect the boys.”

“Thank you!” J said, saluting in Nova’s general direction.

With that, Nova hurried over to the boys.

As Nova approached, the boys wasted no time in striking their respective poses, throwing on smiles as they prepared for the photo.

“Be ready to go after this,” Nova said, raising his voice just enough for the boys to hear him over the waterfall as he pulled his phone from his pocket. “I told your father I’m currently rounding you all up.”

“So you’re telling us you lied to our dear old Dad?” Haym snickered, tilting his chin up just a little as Nova focused the camera.

“Only by omission,” Nova replied. He took the next few moments to steady his hands, taking care to make sure the picture was lined up properly before snapping a series of photos.

Somewhere in the middle of the photoshoot, the boys all shifted into different poses, choosing to make obnoxious faces at the camera. Then, after only ten seconds, they switched it up once more, this time going for a dramatic renaissance style pose.

After getting a few photos of their latest pose, Nova dropped his arm by his side. “Alright,” he said, tapping his phone against his thigh, “I’m going to call it there, before your father gets suspicious.”

A mixture of snickering and whining came from the boys as they broke out of their formation and made their way toward J, with only Rin lagging behind. He stole the occasional glance at Nova, though he made an attempt to hide his obvious curiosity by looking forward for the most part.

“Rin, is something wrong?” Nova asked, staring at the boy.

If Rin had skin, he likely would have jumped out of it then and there. He stared at Nova for only a moment longer before averting eye contact, staring at the ground. “Uh, yeah. Sorry,” he muttered, “Just thinking.”

Before Nova could respond, Rin shoved hands in his pockets and hurried after his brothers.

...Strange.

Turning around, Nova looked over the photos he’d taken as he made his way over to J, who was currently surrounded by the boys. Their chatter was so loud, it almost drowned out the waterfall.

As Nova drew close, J’s radar pinged. He threw on his backpack and grabbed his walking stick, standing at attention as he addressed the group.

“So, is everyone ready to go?”

Eloni was the first to speak up, wearing an easy grin. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Good. Let’s be off, then,” J said, picking up his walking stick and pointing to the trail. “Oh, and the sooner we get back down, the sooner you all can see the gift shop!”

Nova properly looked up from his phone just in time to watch the boys take off down the trail once more, leaving their father behind. J stood still for a moment, his radar pinging twice before he laughed, letting his walking stick make contact with the ground again.

“They may be waiting at the bottom for a while,” he snickered, leaning against his walking stick as he faced Nova.

“Oh, I’m sure,” Nova muttered, glancing back down at his phone and looking through the group photos of the boys. Most had come out perfectly fine, with a few awkward snapshots coming from the times the boys had changed their poses.

Though, as Nova looked through the photos, he realized something.

Out of the hundreds of photos he’d taken today, almost all of them included the boys in one way or another. And yet, he’d failed to get a photo of J.

“Honestly, at their rate, they’ll cut the normal walk time in half,” J muttered, chuckling softly as he leaned against his walking stick and turned to Nova. The sun shone from behind, reflecting off of his metallic shoulders as his screen illuminated the front of his body.

In that moment, Nova snapped three photos of J before tucking his phone away.

“There’s no way,” Nova said, dropping his hand by his side. “So far, there’s been no major incident today, meaning Haym’s probably planning on getting stuck in a tree soon.”

At that, J straightened up, taking a few steps toward Nova as he held his hand out. “Ten bucks says nothing happens until after the gift shop”

Nova met J’s hand, only to nearly grab his entire forearm as he shook it. “I’d advise that you prepare yourself for bankruptcy, then.”

J flung his monitor back, barking out a laugh as he nearly fell backward, forcing Nova to pull him forward again.

As Nova pulled J back, he overcorrected himself and leaned toward Nova’s face. “You wish!” he snickered, taking his hand away so that he could pat Nova on the shoulder.

For just a moment, Nova's airway constricted and his lungs seized.

“Anyway,” J said, pulling away and turning toward the trail, “let’s go! The sooner we’re done with this trail, the less time there is for the boys to get lost in the woods.”

It took Nova a few moments to gather the breath to respond.

“You know, I think I’d like to admire the view a little longer…”

“I’m leaving you up here, then!”

“Fine, fine,” Nova muttered, letting out a chuckle as he followed J to the path.

J began to chatter about something as they walked, but Nova could hardly make out whatever he said.

He could still hardly breathe.

* * *

Stepping out of the RV and into the cool night air, Nova tossed his sleeping bag into the grass next to his assigned camping chair.

Out of the seven camping chairs, only one was occupied, with Haym sitting on the edge of his seat as he listened to J explain the process of building a fire. Meanwhile, Rin sat on the ground next to J, his head tilted as J adjusted a magnesium fire starter in his hands.

Turning away from the circle of chairs, Nova looked out at the hill overlooking rocky ground. Here, Zimelu lay on his stomach in the grass, poring over one of the five plant identification books he’d gotten from the gift shop. Not too far from him sat Purl-Hew and Eloni, who both stared upward, transfixed on the sky.

Nova fully understood their enthrallment, as this was likely the boys’ first time this far from the city, and out here, the night sky appeared as it was meant to. Everywhere one looked, stars twinkled and flickered back, illuminating the hill better than any flashlight could ever hope to. The moon shone bright to the east, nearly full as it cast a soft glowing halo around it, and the sky held the slightest tinge of purple tonight.

Nova grabbed the telescope from under his arm, unfolding the legs as he set it in the ground and adjusted its angle. “You boys wanted to see the moon up close tonight, yes?” he asked, turning to Purl-Hew and Eloni.

Both boys sat up in a flash, looking to Nova and nodding with grins on their faces.

“Well then, come this way,” Nova chuckled, motioning them forward.

As the boys made their way over to him, Nova took a knee and peered through the eyepiece of his telescope as he adjusted it manually. After centering the telescope on the moon, however, he turned around to the boys as he stepped back and presented it with his hand.

Purl-Hew stepped forward first, kneeling down and pushing his shades onto his forehead. He folded his arms behind his back, so as not to accidentally move the telescope as he closed one eye and peered through.

“Oh- _geez_.”

Purl-Hew immediately recoiled from the telescope, blinking rapidly. The ocean blue iris of the eye that had looked through the telescope had shrunk to little more than a pinprick, though it was quickly covered by Purl-Hew throwing his shades back onto his nose.

“I didn’t realize it’d be so bright!” He said, making a face as he stared at the telescope.

“My apologies,” Nova muttered, walking to Purl-Hew. “Are you hurt?”

“Nah, I’m good,” he chuckled, waving Nova away. “I just wasn’t expecting that.”

“Well, I am,” Eloni said, walking to the telescope and looking through it, only to flinch and move his head back a few inches.

“Oh. Wow. You weren’t kidding.”

“I know!” Purl-Hew replied, grinning once more and he hurried back over to the telescope. “It’s cool though, isn’t it?”

“ _Hell yeah~!_ ”

Nova turned around to see J punching the air while a small fire flickered in the firepit he’d built. Rin stared up at his father with a proud smile, still holding the fire starter in his hands.

“Good job, Rin,” J said, patting Rin on the shoulder with one hand as he held out the other, which Rin dropped the firestarter into. He quickly closed his fist around the fire starter as he hurried back to the RV, calling out over his shoulder, “You and Haym keep the fire going for a minute, okay? I’m going to put this back.”

“Yes, sir!” Rin and Haym shouted in sync, with Rin saluting J while Haym gave him a thumbs up.

Nova turned back to Eloni and Purl-Hew, who talked between themselves as Eloni moved out of the way for Purl-Hew to attempt looking through the telescope once more.

“Well, you two have fun with the telescope,” Nova said, stepping back. “If you wish to see anything else, you’re both free to adjust the angle and look around. Please don’t touch any of the components you don’t understand, though.” He turned and walked toward the firepit. “I’ll be by the fire if you need me.”

“Gotcha!”

“Thanks, Mr. DJ!”

Nova waved to Purl-Hew and Eloni as he took a seat by the growing fire, which Rin carefully tended to.

The moment Nova sat down, it was as if every step of the hike before caught up to him in seconds. His spine and shoulders felt as though they were made from lead, and his legs went numb as he leaned back in his chair with a quiet sigh.

He focused on the fire, which Rin carefully tended to as it slowly grew. The campfire smell was still faint, not much heat came off the fire just yet, but it had already grown from a mere spark to a flame the size of Rin’s hand. It gave off a warm glow, creating harsh shadows as it crackled in a comfortable quiet, only to be interrupted by the stomp of feet.

J appeared just beside Nova, dropping a large bag at his feet before taking a seat in the chair beside Nova.

“What was that?” Nova inquired, sitting up just slightly as he tried to catch a glimpse of the bag.

“Just a tent I brought,” J said, shrugging as he adjusted the fur on his coat and settled into his seat. “I’ll set it up later.”

Nova paused, staring at J in silence for a solid five seconds.

“And you’re setting it up… Why?”

“To sleep in, obviously,” J chuckled, turning his monitor to Nova.

“You do realize we have an RV with a bed, correct?”

“Yeah, and you’re getting it.”

Haym glanced up from his phone, his eyes flicking between Nova and J before he hopped to his feet and hurried over to Eloni and Purl-Hew. Rin, however, continued to focus on the fire.

Nova sighed, bringing a hand to his face as he turned his chair toward J. “I actually prefer sleeping under the stars. I even brought a sleeping bag, so that I could do so.”

J’s radar pinged as he crossed his arms. “Well, it's not like I would've noticed that.”

“Yes, and it’s my fault for not mentioning my plans," Nova sighed. "However, even so, you should take the bed. I have no plans on using it.”

“Well, neither do I!” J replied.

“So we’re just going to let the bedroom go unused while we _both_ sleep in the dirt?”

“Oh, no.” J motioned to Rin in a relaxed manner. “The boys can have the space. God knows they need it.”

Rin glanced up at that, staring at J for a moment before flicking his eyes over to Nova. After a moment, he blinked and stood up, placing his arms behind his back as he mirrored J’s signature stance.

“I’ll let the others know this,” he said, looking down at J. “You’ll need to tend to the fire, though.”

J nodded, leaning forward as he held a flat palm toward the fire. “You go do that,” he said, grabbing a smaller log and placing it on the fire.

Rin saluted J, glancing at Nova one last time before marching off to join his brothers.

J leaned back in his seat once more with the ping of his radar, stretching his legs out as he folded his arms behind his head. “Oh, by the way, Nova,” he said, a snicker lacing his words, “I believe I won our bet from earlier.”

“You did no such thing,” Nova replied, crossing his arms. “There was no incident, so we both lost the wager.”

“No, I’ll win _someday_.” J raised a finger as he turned to Nova. “I said ‘until _after_ the gift shop’, meaning that once the next incident occurs, I’ve won my side of the bet.” He offered Nova an exaggerated shrug. “You might as well pay me now.”

“I can’t believe you’d fool me like this,” Nova hissed, holding back a chuckle as he brought his hand to his chest. “I’m so hurt. I won’t be able to pay you because all my money will be going toward the extensive therapy sessions I’ll need after this betrayal.”

“Nova, you don’t understand,” J snickered, “my boys can’t remember the last time they ate, I’m sleeping in the dirt, and I just broke my phone, my one mean of contacting the rest of the world! I _need_ this.”

Nova shot upright in his seat as a chill ran down his spine.

“Oh,” he muttered, pulling his phone from his pocket, “speaking of phones, there’s something I’d like to show you.”

J sat up as well, tilting his head. “Really?”

“Indeed,” Nova said, turning on his phone and going into the photos. “Do you have that wire of yours?”

J pulled the wire from his coat pocket. “Affirmative.”

Nova tapped on the first photo he’d taken of the hike before handing his phone to J. “Here you go.”

J kept his head tilted his he gingerly took Nova’s phone, plugging the wire into his monitor before plugging the other end into the phone.

He froze.

Suddenly, a terrible sort of anxiety spread throughout Nova.

“There’s, uh…” Nova set his hands on his thighs. “There’s more, if you swipe to the left.”

J, instead of speaking, simply nodded, swiping to the next photo. And the next. And the one after that.

He kept silent, taking anywhere between five and fifteen seconds on each picture before moving on. The fans in his monitor whirred in the near-silence, and he sat completely still aside from the hand that swiped through everything.

Eventually, he paused as he came to the first picture Purl-Hew and Eloni photobombed.

“Nova,” he muttered, his voice soft, “how many of these did you take?”

Nova could barely speak as his throat grew tight. “A lot.”

The display on J’s monitor distorted slightly.

“Since you weren’t able to get a picture of your boys, I thought I’d do something about it.” Nova rapidly tapped his finger against his leg. “The rest of the boys join in later.”

J slowly nodded, swiping through the photos slightly faster now.

“Nova,” he muttered, continuing to go through the photos, “I obviously can’t express this physically, but I want you to know that if I could, I’d be wearing the biggest fucking grin right now.” He turned his monitor to Nova, which was illuminated softly by both the fire and its own glow. “Thank you.”

That same twisting, suffocating, and nebulous feeling from before grew in Nova’s gut. It burned now, crawling through Nova’s stomach, lungs, and throat. It left his fingers numb and his head fuzzy, only allowing him the energy to nod at J.

“It’s… Of course.”

J fell silent again, facing his monitor straight forward as he continued through the pictures. Occasionally, he’d linger on one, his hand hovering over the screen a tad bit longer than usual before he moved on.

Nova found himself unable to look away, his breath catching in his chest every time J let out a chuckle at one of the boys’ poses.

After some time - Nova hadn’t quite kept track of how long - J finally made it to the proper group photos taken at the waterfall. He spent his time looking over each picture, moving onto the next with a gentle motion. When he came across the renaissance poses, however, he allowed himself a laugh.

“Nova, you need to send me every single one of these when I get my new phone. You hear me?”

The sensation growing in his chest hurt, but not physically.

“Loud and clear.”

“Good!” He chuckled, moving on.

And yet, this time, J took pause almost immediately as he hit the set of photos Nova had taken of him.

“...When’d you get these?” He murmured, tracing a finger along his monitor on the phone screen.

Nova wished he could look away, but for some reason, he couldn’t.

“Just before we made our way back down.”

“ _Why_?”

“I wanted to include everyone in the photos.”

“Oh.”

After a moment, J turned his monitor back to Nova, leaning toward him.

“What about you, though?”

Nova stared back at J.

“What about me?”

J simply chuckled, shaking his head as he left the photos app, going into the camera.

“You’re still included in everyone.”

In one swift motion, J leaned toward Nova and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close as he held the camera out.

Ringing filled Nova's head.

He’d ignore it.

J only spent a moment adjusting the angle of Nova phone, tightening the arm wrapped around his shoulders in the process.

Nova couldn’t breathe.

He’d managed to ignore it thus far.

With the hand on Nova’s shoulder, J made a peace sign, leaning just a bit closer as he snapped a series of photos.

Before him, Nova’s vision blurred.

He _needed_ to ignore it.

After J _finally_ seemed satisfied with the number of pictures he’d taken, he retreated into his own seat, chuckling as he looked over the photos.

As J’s arm left Nova’s shoulder, it left behind a sensation that burned and froze at the same time. It left his fingers shaking, his lungs aflame, and his heart…

_Oh._

“There, now there’s a picture of everyone,” J said, swiping through the photos he’d just taken. “Send these to me too, by the way. They’re good pictures.”

“...I will.”

Nova’s heart...

He could no longer ignore it.

It beat faster than it ever had in his life. It rattled worse than his bones, and it felt blurrier than his vision, and it burned hotter than his lungs.

And when J chuckled and murmured a “thanks” to Nova, it all grew worse.

How? When? Why had this only surfaced _now_?

And why J?

J was his _coworker_ , and had been for nearly half a decade. If there was _anything_ to be had there, it would have come up long before tonight! Not to mention, J was a busy man. He had five boys to take care of, plenty of work with NSR, and an entire district to run. Even if there _was_ something there, he was no doubt too busy to-

To…

Nova leaned forward in his seat, placing his face in his palms. The smooth surface of his head burned to the touch.

“Nova?” J asked, his radar pinging. “Is something wrong?”

His heart hurt. His entire chest burned and twisted. His bones buzzed, his muscles seized, and his gut had collapsed in on itself.

“No, I'm perfectly fine. I just… I believe I could use some rest,” Nova muttered, forcing each word out.

“Oh! I understand,” J replied, unplugging Nova’s phone from his monitor as he offered it back to him. “It was a long day.”

Nova pushed his phone back to J, shaking his head as he forced himself onto his feet.

He could hardly stand.

“You can continue looking through the photos. There’s still plenty more,” he said, grabbing his sleeping bag. “Just connect my phone to a qwaza when you’re done, please.”

“Really?” J asked, angling his head up to Nova. “Are you sure?”

“I’m certain.”

J simply nodded, plugging his monitor back into the phone.

“Well then, goodnight, Nova,” he said with a wave. “Sleep well.”

“Thank you. I’ll try.”

With that, Nova turned and walked away from the fire, from the light of J’s monitor and into the dark.

He didn’t look back.

He couldn’t look back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 👀👀 hey uh nova u good there buddy?
> 
> So uhhhhh this might have been my favorite chapter so far to write. Oopsie :)


	13. Priorities

Sleep hadn’t come easily that night, if it ever even came at all.

Instead of allowing himself the sweet embrace of sleep, Nova had spent the last night mulling over his latest revelation.

It had been as though a fever had overtaken him the moment he laid down, with barely-coherent thoughts swirling together among a sea of raw emotions. A cold dread for the following morning had held steadfast at the forefront of Nova’s mind, while frustration toward the situation simmered just beneath. Heartache made its own special feature, tinging Nova’s memory of the night with a sharp blur, while panic ebbed and flowed throughout the night. All were unpleasant emotions, to say the least, but they weren’t what bothered Nova the most.

No, what left Nova feeling sick to his stomach was something he’s found sometime in the early morning, just when he’d thought things couldn’t get any worse.

A ridiculously naive sense of hope.

Hope for _what_ , exactly?

He couldn’t quite answer his own question, as the feeling never stayed concrete. It shifted at every turn. One moment, it was the hope that things weren’t as bad as they could be. Then, it was that his feelings towards J weren’t a recipe for disaster. From there, it would spiral, allowing Nova the delusion that maybe, just maybe, if he simply bared his heart to the world, _to J_ , all would be well.

And _that_ was what kept Nova awake until sunrise.

Obviously, each and every one of his hopes were nothing more than the ludicrous fantasies of a man who’d grown far too attached. Even though the hopes were fun thoughts to entertain, Nova had already calculated his odds dozens of times. If he forced himself to think rationally for even a moment, he would’ve known that his calculations all pointed to the same conclusion: that acting upon his emotions would result in nothing but tragedy.

First and foremost, confessing to anything would be a surefire way to burn down his friendship with J, which was the absolute last thing Nova wished to do. Were that to happen, though, Nova had no doubt that the boys would hear of his idiocy somehow. Nova would be cut out at best and scorned at worst. Probably both at the same time. Even Purl-Hew would likely end his weekly music lessons to avoid the awkward situation that would follow.

From there, the fallout would start off subtle, but it could easily grow to be immense. NSR meetings would become tense between the two, potentially leading to issues in the workplace. Knowing Tatiana, she would get to the bottom of the case in no time, and considering the fact that J was far closer to her, while Nova would have been the instigator in the situation, the target would be placed on his back. One wrong move, and he could be thrown out of NSR.

All it would take on Nova’s part was a minor slip up. One wrong comment, one bad day, and his music career could, and would, shatter. His satellite, and with it, his dreams, would never come to fruition. He’d be left a disgrace, without any friends or allies as he scrambled to pick up the pieces of his life and start anew yet again, all because he couldn’t have kept his absurd, irrational, and overall _meaningless_ emotions to himself.

So, left with only one rational option, Nova had taken it.

He had elected to simply let his feelings burn until they fizzled out, naturally or not. He’d stamp down his renegade emotions when he caught them, and he’d starve the fire out. He’d avoid physical contact with J, as well as being left alone with him, to prevent furthering his already terrible condition. From now until the end of this road trip, Nova would focus solely on acting as a driver and as an extra adult. Nothing more, nothing less.

It would likely take more time than the road trip for Nova to extinguish his emotions entirely, but it was a start. His ultimate goal though was to go back to normal. Only then could Nova appreciate having J as a friend, and nothing more, once again.

“Mr. Nova?”

Nova stifled a yelp as he was jolted out of his thoughts.

At the current moment, midday on the second day of the road trip, Nova stood in the middle of a large indoor habitat. Flora of all sorts lined the winding path, with delicate flowers placed nearby for easy viewing while vines crawled up any surface they could. The only fauna to be seen in abundance within the enclosure were butterflies of many differing species. Each displayed its own array of colors on its wings, along with its own unique patterns and shapes. Some hovered near the flowers, while others rested on the edges of the path.

As Nova forced himself out of his thoughts, he was made keenly aware of Purl-Hew’s worried stare.

“What is it?” Nova asked, glancing at the boy.

“Uh... Are you alright?” Purl-Hew muttered, furrowing his brow and placing his hands in his pockets.

“Yes, of course,” Nova said, forcing a chuckle as he continued down the path. “I was simply-”

“Thinking?”

“Precisely.”

Purl-Hew’s expression only grew more concerned, with his lips pointing downward as he tilted his head at Nova. After a moment had passed, however, the boy softened his gaze and followed after Nova.

“You must’ve been thinking pretty hard, then,” he muttered, looking to the ground.

“The butterflies are all quite thought-provoking,” Nova hummed. “They’re so brilliant, and yet, so fragile. Truly, one of the many wonders of nature.”

“Uh, yeah. Sure,” Purl-Hew replied, quickening his pace to get ahead of Nova. After he had successfully taken the lead, however, he straightened his back and pointed forward. “Anyway, try not to get lost in thought again for a few seconds, or else we’ll get left further in the dust.”

At that, Nova finally noticed that only he and Purl-Hew walked this section of the trail. The rest of the boys, along with J, were nowhere in sight.

“...Oh.”

Purl-Hew nodded and continued forward. “Yeah, since you kinda stopped in the middle of the path without warning, Eloni and Haym dragged everyone else forward.” Purl-Hew shrugged, hopping down a few stairs. “Dad said he’d make sure everyone waited for us by the exit, though, so it shouldn’t be too hard to catch up.”

Nova tilted his head as chattering and mechanical whirrs drew closer by the moment. “By the sound of it, we’re already almost there.”

Purl-Hew chuckled. “Well, we have _been_ wandering through here for a while now,” he said, shrugging as he turned the corner. “It’d make sense that the exit is pretty clo- oh, hey Rin!”

As Nova followed Purl-Hew around the corner, he was met with the rest of the boys, along with J, all stood at different points near the exit. Haym sat on a small brick wall just above a plaque detailing the different sorts of butterflies in the enclosure, carefully holding a butterfly of his own in his hands as he stared at it with wide eyes. Meanwhile, Eloni grinned as he hovered nearby Zimelu and J, who both stood frozen beside each other. The reason they stood still was fairly obvious, as Zimelu had a bright blue butterfly perched atop his mohawk, while J had multiple butterflies resting on his screen and the fur piece of his jacket.

While most of the scene was run of the mill with the boys, Nova had to admit, J surrounded by insects was not a sight he’d expected to see. It was almost amusing seeing J, the loudest and most bombastic individual Nova knew, staying completely still as the butterflies gently fluttered their wings on his monitor.

Honestly, it was all rather-

_No._

Not another thought.

Forcing his gaze away from J, Nova took notice of Rin, who stood closest to himself and Purl-Hew. He kept his arms by his sides in a tense manner, though the moment Nova had taken notice of his presence, he pointed directly at the DJ.

“Mr. Supernova,” Rin said, his voice echoing off the walls of the enclosure, “you’re needed over this way.”

“Rin! Quiet down,” Eloni whisper-shouted, looking over his shoulder to address his brother. “You’ll scare off the butterflies!”

Rin simply grimaced in response, though he schooled his expression before glancing at Eloni and muttering in the most deadpan tone he could muster, “Sorry.”

Eloni nodded in understanding, smiling and giving Rin a thumbs up before looking to Nova and waving him over. “Oh, Mr. DJ! We need you for pictures,” he said, making sure to keep his volume low enough to avoid disturbing the insects crawling on his family members.

Nova found himself sighing as he approached, pulling his phone from his shirt’s pocket as he glanced at Eloni. “Don’t you all have your own phones?” he asked. “Why couldn’t _you_ take a few photos?”

“Hey, you’re the photographer here, not me,” Eloni chuckled, stepping out of the way for Nova.

“You couldn’t have even _tried_ to take a photo on your own, though?” Nova muttered, pulling up the camera.

“He was too busy gawking at the bugs,” Zimelu said, shrugging and gently elbowing his father as he slowly moved into a pose. “Oh, and Dad, camera’s that way.”

J, rather than speaking, slowly moved into a pose for the camera. He put his back to Zimelu’s and faced his monitor, which was still halfway covered in butterflies, directly at Nova.

Nova tilted his head, looking over his phone and at J as he attempted to perfect the angle of the camera.

Looking upon J as he posed, Nova’s heart rattled the same way it had last night.

And yet, Nova elected not to ignore his irregular heartbeat in the same way he had back before he’d realized the root of the issue, but to rationalize it away.

This was a normal, _completely average_ encounter with J.

No reason to panic.

No reason to care.

“J,” Nova hummed, focusing the picture as he shifted his weight, “surely, you must have some sort of opinion on your boys being physically unable to take photos.”

“Oh, he can’t talk right now,” Eloni said, shuffling out of the scene. “The butterflies get spooked when he talks or uses his radar.”

At that, J formed peace signs with both his hands, as if he were conveying some sort of message. Aside from that, however, he stayed completely still, and completely silent.

“Hm. How strange,” Nova muttered, snapping a few photos of J and Zimelu. “They don’t seem to mind it when you and Zimelu speak.”

“I think it’s specifically got something to do with how sound comes from Dad’s monitor,” Eloni shrugged.

“That, and the fact that Dad’s got no volume control,” Zimelu added in.

At that, J let out a sharp exhale and elbowed Zimelu in the side. Zimelu, completely unharmed, merely chuckled in response as he jabbed his father back.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Nova said, turning off his phone, “before that turns into an ordeal, I’ve gotten enough photos. J, you’re free to speak again.”

Immediately, a ping came from J’s radar, scattering the butterflies on his monitor, along with the one previously perched on Zimelu’s mohawk. He then turned to Zimelu, poking him in the shoulder and placing his free hand on his hip.

“No volume control _my ass_ ,” he said, his voice booming throughout the enclosure as he barely held back a snicker. “Don’t think you can get away with talking smack just because I’m quiet for a few minutes. You hear me, soldier?”

Zimelu only offered his father a smug smile as he stared up at him. “Hey, listen. I speak nothing but the truth,” he said, putting both hands up in defense. “Don’t shoot the messenger.”

J made an eye roll motion, jabbing Zimelu once more before folding his arms behind his back and walking toward Nova. His radar pinged twice over the course of the small journey, once halfway through, and a second time as he stopped just beside the DJ.

Nova could do nothing but pray that only he could hear his own heartbeat.

“So, Nova!” J began, moving his hands to his hips as his radar pinged yet again. “You see anything else picture worthy, or should we be on our way?”

Nova took a step away from J, simply to allow himself the room, along with the mental fortitude, to breathe.

“I believe we’re all set,” Nova muttered, scanning the area. “Unless anyone else would like a picture with the insects-”

“ _No_ ,” Rin hissed, already standing by the exit with wide eyes. “Everyone’s good. We’re ready to go.”

J tilted his head, turning in the general direction of the rest of the boys. “Is this correct?”

All the boys stopped what they were doing to look at their father. Eloni and Zimelu paused what must have been some sort of conversation, while Haym and Purl-Hew both sat on the brick wall. Haym and Purl-Hew both nodded at J, while Eloni quickly glanced around at his brothers.

“I think we’re all good, yeah,” Eloni said, joining Rin by the exit.

“Well then, let’s be off!” J said, clasping his hands together as he walked to the exit. “We’ve still gotta stop by the avian sanctuary today, don’t we?”

“Right after lunch,” Nova added, following J from a distance.

“Ah, yes,” J said, letting out a laugh. “Of course.”

While the chatter between the boys picked up once again, Nova and J’s conversation fell silent as they all slowly made their way through the exit door. The room they were led into, however, was of a medium wise with another door at the far end. An employee stood by the next exit, glancing up from her phone with what seemed to be surprise at the sudden presence of patrons. Her expression shifted into further confusion as she scanned the group, though after a moment, she put on a friendly smile and shoved her phone into her pants pocket.

“Hey, thanks for visiting Giocoso Valley’s Butterfly House!” She said, her tone far too chipper for a normal human interaction, but perfect for customer service. “Before you go, though, I’ve just gotta check you all and make sure you’ve got no butterflies trying to sneak out with ya.”

J was the first to respond, saluting the young lady as he nodded. “Go right ahead,” he said, bringing his arm back down by his side.

The woman stared at J for a moment, very obviously using her smile to mask whatever it was she actually thought of the situation. “Uh… Yeah, okay,” she chuckled, stepping forward.

The process only took a few seconds per person, with the girl simply checking the backs of everyone before moving on. She reached the last person, Haym, within the minute.

“Oh, hey. Could you turn around for me?” She asked, making a spinning motion with her finger.

Haym nodded in response, offering her a far too sweet close-lipped smile as he did as instructed. After only a moment, the girl nodded and stepped back.

“Well, looks like you’re all good. Nobody’ll be accidentally smuggling any butterflies out today,” she chuckled, walking back to her post and opening the second door. “You all have a good day, now!”

“Thank you,” Rin said, offering the girl a charming smile before hurrying straight out the door, dropping his smile immediately.

Haym was just behind Rin, managing to keep pace just behind his brother. Everyone else eventually followed, filing through the exit door before walking through the lobby of the building.

“Yaknow, when we get back home, we should invest in one of those bug boards,” Purl-Hew mused, stepping outside as Nova held the door. “The ones where they pin all the cool bugs up.”

“Not that I’m opposed,” Eloni said, “but we’d need bugs for it. How’re we gonna get a hold of them?”

“We’ve got money, we can buy some already dead ones!”

“Ooh, and Haym could pin them, since he’s gotten good with needles.”

Haym glanced up just as Nova stepped outside with everyone else. Instead of speaking, however, Haym simply nodded at Eloni and Purl-Hew and gave them a thumbs up.

“If we get a bug board, it’s going in one of your guys’ rooms,” Rin grumbled, scratching his forearms as he followed Nova and J through the parking lot to the RV. “I don’t wanna see it.”

Zimelu nodded at that, adjusting a singular hair in his mohawk as he walked. “I’ve gotta agree with Rin,” he said, “it’s kinda weird just having a bunch of dead bugs sitting over the fireplace.”

“But they’re _pretty_ bugs.”

“Plus,” Eloni said with a chuckle, “have you got a better alternative? If we don’t line our halls with dead bugs, then what else will we use?”

“Isn’t there like, a vegan version of the bug boards?” Zimelu asked, “where people smash flowers and put them in frames?”

Nova pulled the RV keys from his pocket as he approached the vehicle. “I believe you’re referring to a plant press,” he said, unlocking the door and stepping inside the motorhome.

“Yeah, that.”

“We could compromise and have dead flowers _and_ dead bugs in our halls,” Purl-Hew suggested, following after Nova.

“The bugs are _not_ going in the hallway,” Rin hissed, flopping onto the couch the moment he stepped into the RV.

Eloni glanced at his brother, frowning slightly as he sat beside him. “I mean, okay, but-”

“Hey Dad," Purl-Hew said, cutting off Eloni and standing beside J as he closed the door to the RV behind him. "Can we _please_ put dead bugs in the halls on the second floor?”

“Negative,” J said, already making his way to the passenger seat up front. “Having dead creatures lining our hallways isn’t something I’m quite fond of.”

Purl-Hew simply frowned, while Rin let out a barely audible sigh of relief at the decision.

After a moment, the chatter between the boys started back up,and Nova found himself digging through the refrigerator in the tiny kitchen area. He glanced over his shoulder as he pulled a premade sandwich off the shelf, only to catch J leaning against the back of the front seats and pointing his monitor straight at Nova, as though prepared to speak.

Nova didn’t quite know if he was prepared to have another crisis in the middle of a conversation, so he placed his attention elsewhere.

“So, Haym,” he said, shutting the refrigerator door and sitting at the small table. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”

Haym snapped to attention from across the cabin, staring at the DJ instead of listening to his brothers’ conversation. Instead of speaking, however, he only nodded.

Strange.

“Well, did you enjoy this stop, at the very least?”

At that, Haym offered Nova a wide, nearly maniacal grin before stepping back. Once again, he didn’t speak, instead choosing to tilt his head back and unhinging his jaw, garnering the attention of his brothers as silence washed over the cabin.

Moments later, a butterfly flew out of Haym’s mouth.

...Well, that explained the silence.

“Her name’s Genevieve!” Haym grinned, watching the butterfly flutter its way across the room.

The moment the butterfly - _Genevieve_ \- drew close to Rin, he shattered the stunned silence with an ear-splitting, yet autotuned, scream. Moments later, he’d scrambled off the couch, grabbing an entire cushion to use as a shield against the insect.

“Haym!” Rin screeched, backing himself against the wall. “ _Why_?!”

Before Haym could respond, J jumped to his feet, stomping forward as he placed himself between Rin and Haym. “What the hell is going on?!”

“Haym stole a butterfly,” Eloni muttered, watching in pure disbelief from the half of the couch that hadn’t been torn up.

“He…” J trailed off, processing what Eloni just said before snapping his monitor in his direction. “What?!”

“I guess we’ve got a pet now!” Purl-Hew chimed in, wearing a grin similar to Haym’s as the butterfly landed on his outstretched finger.

“No, we don’t!” J barked, placing his hands on his hips. “A living creature does _not_ become yours just because you _stole_ it!”

“Dad’s right,” Zimelu said, somehow already in the loft bed and watching the scene from above. “That butterfly isn’t ours, Haym. It needs to go home.” He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at his brother. “So, put it back in your mouth so we can-”

“Back?!” J sputtered, his hands twitched as he turned his monitor directly to Zimelu. “ _In his mouth_?!”

As J attempted to gain some sort of understanding of the situation and bring order back, Nova was left to watch the chaos.

Unsurprisingly, Nova's gaze immediately settled on J, who shouted orders at Haym.

Despite the absurdity of the scene before him, Nova’s heart rate had already doubled and his breath had caught in his throat.

Stars above, if this was how the rest of the trip was going to be, Nova wasn’t quite sure if he’d make it home without hyperventilating or experiencing a heart attack.

Hopefully, his plan would begin to show results sooner rather than later.

* * *

After the second day of the trip, things had begun to smooth out a bit for Nova.

Thankfully, the past few days had been too busy for Nova to allow himself to be left alone with J. Every time Nova found himself in a situation with the potential to spark something within his heart, he’d managed to find an escape. Oftentimes, it was a simple change in conversation partners, as Nova would ask one of the boys about his experiences over the trip. Occasionally, when this tactic didn’t work, Nova would be left steering the conversation into the mundane, or, better yet, splitting away from J entirely.

Today, the fifth day of the trip, was one of those days. So far, most of the day had been spent touring the relatively empty museum of the sciences in a region several hours north of Vinyl City. The museum itself was massive, and each boy had taken interest in different wings of the building.

So, by Nova’s suggestion, he and J had split up on behalf of the boys.

Thus far, this tactic had worked wonders not only for Nova’s emotions, but for the boys’ interest in science. While J had taken Rin, Haym, and Purl-Hew to the section relating to the earth sciences, Nova and the remaining boys had chosen to explore the space-themed section of the museum, ogling the informational plaques and interactive exhibits as they passed through.

At the present moment, Nova was currently chatting with an engrossed Eloni about the atmosphere of Venus, as represented on the large wall in front of them.

“And due to the magnified greenhouse effect created by the atmosphere, Venus is actually the hottest planet, despite only being second closest-”

“Hey, DJ,” Zimelu interjected, standing just beside Nova.

Nova paused, looking away from Eloni to study Zimelu.

“You can use the words ‘excuse me’, you know.”

“Yup. Sure can,” Zimelu said, shrugging. “This is quick though.”

“What is it, then?”

Zimelu motioned to a scale model of Jupiter further down the exhibit. “Is it okay if I go check out some of the stuff up ahead?”

Nova glanced at the exhibits ahead, humming to himself as he rolled the idea around.

“I don’t see why not,” he finally said, offering Zimelu a shrug. “Just stay safe. Don’t touch anything you’re not supposed to, and don’t go into the next room without us.”

“Gotcha,” Zimelu said with a nod, walking away.

“...Anyway,” Nova muttered, only to be silenced once more as he turned back to Eloni.

The boy stared at him with an obvious interest, his eyebrows raised and the corners of his mouth quirked upward as he stared at Nova. Meanwhile, Nova found himself tilted his head at the boy in return.

“What?”

Eloni blinked, looking back to the wall in an instant. “Sorry,” he chuckled. “It’s just… You really sound like Dad.” He looked to the DJ, giving him a playful smile. “I guess he must be rubbing off on you.”

A dull ache panged through Nova’s heart.

He _did_ sound like J.

Though a strange thing to realize, it made sense. It was a proven fact that people often mirrored the patterns of those they held in high regard, and Nova was by no means immune to this behavior. Especially considering his recent… _Fondness_ toward J. He’d probably unwittingly picked up many of his quirks over the past few months. It wouldn’t have been surprising.

It _did_ beg the question, though... Had J done the same?

_Stop right there._

Too much was at stake for Nova to entertain such ideas.

Nothing good ever would, or even _could_ come from this line of thought.

_He’d established this already._

“Uh… Mr. DJ?”

“I’m sorry,” Nova said, swallowing the lump in his throat. “Did you say something?”

Eloni’s eyes flicked to the wall, his face neutral for just a moment before shifting into a smile once more.

“I was just saying,” he said, motioning to the wall, “I can’t find Pluto anywhere on here.”

Nova stared at the plaque in front of him, unamused.

“That’s because this wall only lists facts about _planets_.”

“Yeah, and?”

“Eloni,” Nova sighed, bringing a hand to his head, “not today. Please.”

Immediately, Eloni dropped his smile and nodded. “Oh, yeah. Sorry,” he muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets.

After a moment of silence, however, Eloni spoke once more.

“Seriously though, I’d like to find the Pluto fun facts,” he said, shifting his weight as he stared at the wall.

Nova found himself staring at Eloni. “Why?”

“Even if it’s not a planet, I still like Pluto.” Eloni shrugged.

“Again,” Nova muttered, “ _why_?”

“Honestly, I just like it,” Eloni said, looking back to Nova. “It may not be the biggest celestial body, or the most interesting, but it's still unique and deserves a little bit of attention.”

“...I see.”

Then, before Nova could approve or deny Eloni’s original request, a ping echoed throughout the room.

“ _We’re back~!_ ” J sang out, striding into the room with Rin, Haym, and Purl-Hew in tow.

Nova was _not_ about to acknowledge the way J’s voice rang in his head.

Absolutely not.

Under no circumstances would he do such a thing.

“Hey Dad!” Eloni called out, smiling and waving to his father as he approached.

J nodded to Eloni, with Haym and Purl-Hew wandering off almost immediately as his radar pinged a second time. “Hello again,” he chuckled, stopping just beside Nova and turning to him. “Anything interesting happen while we were gone?”

Nova took one step away from J, shaking his head as he made an attempt to catch his breath.

“Not particularly, no.”

J nodded in understanding, folding his arms behind his back as Rin walked over to Eloni. “Okay, next question,” he said, “where’d Zimelu go?”

“Ahead.”

“What for?”

Nova shrugged, taking another step away from J as he looked away. “He was pointing to a scale model of Jupiter, I believe.”

J nodded, running his hand along a plaque featuring a braille portion. “You believe?” he chuckled, “was the model actually accurate to the real thing?”

Looking to the scale model, Nova could safely say that it was _horribly_ outdated. The paint had worn thin in places, and the brushstrokes themselves were far too messy at times. Everything on the model blurred together, and the true brilliance of Jupiter had been watered down to nothing but a muddy array of colors.

“...It serves its purpose,” Nova muttered.

J let out a laugh.

“ _Serves its purpose_?”

“Indeed.”

“Which, in Nova terms, means..?”

_Nova terms_?

A fuzzy sort of feeling surrounded Nova’s heart and lungs.

Nova forced himself to speak, as though the feeling didn’t exist.

“Just that,” he replied, keeping his tone steady. “It serves its purpose. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Oh.”

J pointed his monitor straight ahead, tapping his fingers against his thigh as their conversation, along with Rin and Eloni’s, lulled. Only a moment passed before both androids took notice of the silence, glancing between Nova and J with unreadable expressions.

Finally, after ten seconds, J angled his monitor back to Nova, as though to speak.

Before J could utter a word, however, Nova cleared his throat.

“Eloni,” Nova said, catching the attention of the boy as he turned on his heel and walked further into the exhibit. “Let’s go find information on Pluto, yes?”

“Oh, sure,” Eloni said, jumping to attention as he followed Nova and waved to his father. “I’m going over here, Dad.”

If J gave a verbal response, Nova didn’t catch it, for he was far too focused on the fuzz that had migrated to his brain.

And, more importantly, how to rid himself of it.

It made no sense. Nova had thought his strategy had worked until now. He thought he’d been doing _so well_ for the past few days, when in reality, everything he’d built cracked under the slightest bit of stress.

Nova must have overlooked something when formulating his plan. Either that, or…

Perhaps he wasn’t trying hard enough.

* * *

Desperate times had called for desperate measures.

Over the past few days, conversations had been stopped before they even began. The time in the RV was spent either talking to the boys, or in silence. Whenever the chance came up, Nova would split the group. He’d hardly even looked J’s way since the museum.

It hadn’t helped.

Well, not in the way Nova had hoped.

Sure, Nova’s strict adherence to his strategy had spread out the... _Instances_. However, his distancing had done nothing to actually snuff out the intensity of his emotions.

Instead, it had all gotten worse.

So much worse.

For every conversation cut short, his heartbeat filled the awkward silence that followed. Each time they split up, Nova found himself all the more happy to reunite. His thoughts wandered during the quiet moments, and his ability to think ceased when things grew noisy once again. Heartache overtook Nova’s senses when he heard J’s voice, and it grew harder and harder to pull his gaze away each time he caught himself staring.

Speaking of which.

Nova tore his gaze away from J, who sat on a large mat in the sand a distance away.

Now, Nova focused his vision out toward the sea, where most of the boys had gathered.

The sound of wind, chatter, and the crash of waves all competed for Nova’s attention. The sand in his shoes left a terrible static in Nova’s spine, while the warm, salty air managed to ground him. As seabirds screeched and the sun beat down upon his back, Nova made his way along the mostly uninhabited coastline, watching the foam of the waves bubble and drag back out to sea once more.

“Mr. Supernova.”

Nova jumped away from Rin’s voice in an instant, whipping his head around to find the boy staring at him with a blank expression.

“What-” Nova paused, catching his breath as he smoothed out his shirt. “What is it?”

Rin blinked, only to turn his head toward the sea.

“Whatcha up to?”

Nova stared at Rin just a moment longer, only to follow Rin’s gaze out to the sea.

“I’m simply watching the tide.”

“Alone?”

Nova turned right back to Rin, tilting his head.

“Yes,” he replied, prepared for a challenge.

Instead, Rin simply nodded in response.

“Okay.”

Nova looked away, but he couldn’t quite focus on the sea again.

“You know,” Rin said, placing his arms behind his back, “the Captain was particularly excited for this stop.”

“Was he, now?”

The words had left Nova before he’d even had a chance to think.

“Mhm,” Rin hummed, squinting at one of the waves. “His favorite stories to tell are always set near the coast.”

“I see,” Nova muttered. “What were they about?”

Rin pointed just over his shoulder, to J in the distance.

“I don’t do the stories justice. You should ask the Captain about them.”

At the thought, a pit grew in Nova’s stomach as his heart jumped to his throat.

“Maybe later.”

After a moment, Rin narrowed his eyes at the sea.

“You’re avoiding him.”

Nova’s fingers curled into fists by his sides as he forced himself to keep his gaze locked forward.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re not as subtle as you think you are, Supernova,” Rin replied, turning to the DJ with a flat expression. “You’ve been avoiding him for almost the entire duration of the trip.”

...Had it really been that obvious?

No, no. Certainly not. It was more likely that Rin didn’t trust Nova still, leading to the boy analyzing every one of his behaviors. While not Nova’s favorite thing in the world, it would have made sense. He’d always been more perceptive than most.

Then again, so was J.

Rin huffed, wrinkling his nose at the lack of response.

“I thought you said you cared about the Captain.”

Nova’s lungs ceased and his heart threatened to split in half.

“I _do_ care.”

Far too much.

“Huh, could’ve fooled me,” Rin hissed.

Nova stared out at a seabird gliding over the water.

“You’ve probably fooled him, too.”

Nova brought a hand to his head as the air in his lungs grew thin and fuzzy.

Rin was right.

In his attempt to avoid disaster, Nova had done nothing but usher in a different sort of problem.

J was Nova’s friend, and the reverse was true as well. J had likely been looking forward to spending time with a friend, only to be shrugged off and avoided for days without an explanation. Each time he’d attempted to converse, he’d been shut down. Each time he tried to spend time with all of his sons, Nova had pushed for them to split up. Time that should have been spent having fun had most certainly been soured, all because of Nova’s immature reaction to issues belonging to nobody but himself.

J probably felt terrible.

He deserved so much better.

Forcing himself to take in air, Nova pushed his shoulders back and turned away from the sea.

“I should talk to him.”

Immediately, Rin looked up at the DJ, his expression softening just slightly as he nodded.

“You really should.”

“I will,” Nova muttered, stepping inland.

Though, before he set off toward J, Nova looked back.

“Rin.”

The android only blinked in response.

“Thank you for… Bringing this to my attention,” Nova said, pinning his arms by his sides.

Rin’s eyes widened as he nodded.

“Uh. Yeah,” he muttered, ruffling his own hair before looking back to the sea. “Now, go talk to him.” He shooed Nova away with a hand. “No more stalling.”

“Of course.”

And with that, he was off.

The trek inland toward J wasn’t physically taxing in the slightest, and yet, it was easily the most exhausting walk of Nova’s life.

With each step, his vision danced, and with each breath, his ribs screamed. The sounds around him would tune out completely, only to come back on a dime, overwhelming his senses. He would have called himself spineless, were it not for the chill creeping down his vertebrae.

Finally, when Nova was within ten meters of the mat, J turned to him.

He almost stopped there, turning tail and walking straight into the ocean, never to be seen again.

Instead, he continued forward.

“Hello, J.”

J simply nodded in response.

“Nova.”

Nova couldn’t call whatever followed a silence, for the water and his heart roared far too loud to be ignored.

“So,” J said, rolling his shoulders as he sat up, “I’m assuming the boys are ready to leave?”

“What? No.” Nova said, stopping just beside J on the mat. “I’ve simply come to sit.”

“Oh.”

With that, J reclined into the pile of towels and backpacks that had been dragged out, the sun reflecting off his shins and shoulders as a soft ping came from his monitor.

That alone was enough to send spots dancing across Nova’s vision.

He took a seat beside J before he could fall over.

Now, for the difficult part.

Obviously, Nova couldn’t come right out and speak the truth of the matter and apologize, for that would only result in more problems. On that same note, however, he couldn’t just act as though nothing had happened. J deserved an apology for Nova’s inconsiderate behavior. One that would _mend_ things, not tear apart an entire friendship.

Though, what on earth could possibly excuse Nova’s actions?

“Nova.”

He looked to J.

“Yes?”

J sat up once more, sitting cross legged as he placed his hands on his knees.

“Is something wrong?”

Nova stared at J.

“I… Ehm-”

“Sorry, let me specify,” J said with a flippant handwave, tilting his monitor toward Nova. “You’ve been acting strange lately. Have _I_ done something wrong?”

“What- no!” Nova sat upright, holding up both hands as he shook his head. “No, no. J, I cannot apologize enough,” he blurted out, bringing a hand to his head.

He couldn’t believe himself.

“You’ve done nothing. I’m so sorry. It’s my- I carry sole responsibility for my behavior.”

J stayed silent, listening.

“Again, I’m nothing but sorry,” Nova sighed, bringing his hand to his head. “I’ve been incredibly inconsiderate toward you, all because I was…”

Enamored. Infatuated. Smitten.

“...Overwhelmed.”

After a moment, J’s monitor pinged.

“Ah, that’s right,” he muttered, resting the bottom edge on his monitor against his palm, which he propped up against his knee. “You’re an introvert, aren’t you? This trip was probably hell on earth after hour three of the boys’ bickering.”

“Oh, well, it hasn’t been _hell_ ,” Nova said, “but it’s certainly been a lot. This isn’t a reflection of you or the boys, though. I’ve simply been… Drained.”

“It’s alright, I get it! It takes a lot to get used to having the boys around 24/7,” J chuckled. “I don’t blame you for being tired for even a second.”

J’s laugh continued to ring through Nova’s head as he nodded.

At this rate, it would take ages for Nova to snuff out his feelings.

However, he could survive that, so long as nothing like this, a situation where J was left wondering what _he’d_ done wrong, ever happened again.

“Thank you for understanding,” Nova muttered.

“Thanks for communicating,” J replied.

It was almost as if the environment itself calmed at that. The waves suddenly sounded far less violent, and the sun became nothing more than a pleasant warmth on Nova’s shoulders.

“So, J,” Nova hummed, using his arms to prop himself up as he leans back. “I was told you have some tales from around the coastline.”

J perked up in an instant. “Do I!” He laughed, leaning forward. “I’ve got all sorts! A few from the Navy, a few from those idiotic young adult years, a few miscellaneous…” He paused, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking again. “Which one do you wanna hear about first?”

Nova let out a soft chuckle as he got comfortable. “Why don’t you surprise me?”

“Alright! You’re getting one of the longer ones, then,” J snickered. “It was back when I was first drafted, and I was still getting my sea legs about me. We’d just traveled for weeks, and we were supposed to go into the port, but everything was running behind! So, to pass the time…”

Though J couldn’t see it, Nova nodded along to the story as he listened to the rise and fall of J’s voice.

The yelling, the dramatic flairs, and the run on sentences all flowed together like music. Each hand motion was carefully watched, and each laugh was punctuated by the pang of Nova’s heartstrings, all in a good way.

It was then Nova finally realized: seeing J happy was far kinder to his heart than attempting to distance himself ever was.

_Oh, he had it so bad._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes this chapter was extremely painful to write im dying too i PROMISE GUYS IM NOT DOING THIS TO BE MEAN
> 
> Seriously tho… Dr DJ Dumbass amirite??? EMOTIONS ARENT THAT FUCKING HARD- (yes they are. BUT STILL)
> 
> Also just a Fun Little Tidbit, but I listened to Mr. Loverman by Ricky Montgomery to get in the mood to write this chapter. :) :) Yea.......


	14. Eventually

After seeing how his last attempt to cope affected J, Nova had no other choice but to adopt a new strategy to deal with his emotions.

From now on, he had elected to deal with his feelings as they arose on a case to case basis, rather than attempting to avoid them altogether.

Now, obviously, this new plan came with its set of drawbacks. Nova’s heart still hurt far more often than he liked, and his lungs were still finicky as ever around J. The pros, however, far outweighed these cons. For starters, the chatter during drives had picked back up between everyone, with most of the boys involving both Nova and their father in conversations. Since Nova had begun speaking to J again, Rin acted as though nothing had happened. Meanwhile, J seemingly held no hard feelings about the situation, just content to be back on speaking terms.

In all honesty, just seeing J happy once again was enough to convince Nova he’d made the correct decision. Even though Nova’s organs threatened to shut down on a regular basis, and his thoughts often tangled into a mess of emotions, he could handle it as long as nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary from the outside.

Plus, all these feelings would inevitably pass. One could only hold onto an unrequited infatuation for so long. Even with Nova actively fueling this flame at the moment, all fires had to die at some point. Things had to return to normal _someday_.

Until then, though, Nova would live. For everyone’s sake.

“Hey, Mr. DJ, does this look like a dog to you?”

At the sound of Eloni’s voice, Nova’s vision focused on the dying fire in front of him, forcing him to zone back in to his surroundings.

Tonight, camp had been set up in a clearing just off a lonely forest road, with the RV parked not too far from where the fire had been started hours ago. J’s tent had been set up a small distance away from the fire, while a now-small pile of firewood sat just by the fire. Directly above, the night sky shone bright as ever, even though one could see beyond the trees blocking the horizon.

While Zimelu and Haym had gone inside some time ago, everyone else sat nearby the dim embers in a calm quiet. To Nova’s right, Purl-Hew sat curled up in a camping chair as he tapped away at his phone with his headphones on, likely working on some new composition. Across from the fire lay Rin, sprawled out on his back and staring up at the sky with half lidded eyes. Lastly, J and Eloni both sat on the ground to Nova’s left, with J hunched over as he whittled away, while Eloni set his knife in the grass beside him and stared up at the DJ.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” Nova muttered, stretching his legs as he leaned toward Eloni. “Does what look like a dog?”

Immediately, Eloni held up a halfway carved stick and offered it to Nova.

“I _tried_ whittling the end to look kinda like a dog,” he chuckled, sitting cross legged as Nova took the stick. “I’ve been staring at it way too long to tell how well it actually turned out, though.”

Nova turned the stick over in his hands, inspecting the end Eloni had been carving.

The craftsmanship was most definitely amateur, though Nova hadn't expected much different. The carving possessed strange ridges, along with the occasional out of place indent in the wood. Overall, though, the shape that had been carved out most definitely looked like some sort of wild animal, with a defined snout and a pair of ears, one pointed and the other folded over.

“I like the ears,” Nova mused, running a hand over them. “The asymmetry works quite well with the piece.”

Eloni lightened up almost immediately. “Oh, thanks,” he said, smiling as he held out his hand to take the stick back. “I wanted to try out something different, you know?”

“I can see that,” Nova said, dropping the stick back into Eloni’s hand.

“Wait,” J said, straightening up and setting his knife down, only to hold his hand out to Nova. “Let me see my son’s handiwork.”

Eloni chuckled as Nova dropped the stick into J’s hand. “You can’t see, though.”

J snickered in response, poking Eloni with the uncarved end of the stick. “You know what I mean,” he said, twirling the stick back around and running his fingers over the dog carving.

After only a moment, Eloni tilted his head at this father. “So, whatcha think?”

“You have a decent handle on how to carve the shape,” J muttered, taking a few more seconds to feel the carving before offering the stick back to Eloni. “I’d recommend you hold your knife at an angle that isn’t so harsh. Also, try using a bit less force and going slower, since you’re still learning. It’ll help you make smoother cuts.”

Eloni nodded, taking his stick back and setting it beside him. “Gotcha,” he said, grabbing his knife along with another stick from the now-tiny pile of firewood. “Time for attempt number two, then.”

As Eloni began to whittle at the new piece of wood, J picked up his knife and current project and got back to carving.

Interestingly enough, attempting to discern what J was actually carving was near impossible. The shape was still rough, and J hunched over any piece of the project that could give Nova any hints, blocking it from view. He worked quickly, though, running his thumb over every cut he made in the wood before making another cut, repeating the cycle.

“J,” Nova said, leaning forward in his seat to get a glimpse of the carving. “What are you attempting to create, exactly?”

“Oh, I’m seeing if I remember how to carve out the dolls I used to sell,” J replied, leaning back just a bit as he ran his thumb along the smooth surface of the wood.

Nova tilted his head. “You used to sell wooden dolls?”

“Not just that,” J chuckled, “I used to sell a whole array of toys, actually! Back when I was young, I-”

“Oh god,” Eloni chuckled, barely glancing up from his carving. “Now you’ve got him started.”

“Hey, I was talking,” J snickered, adjusting himself so that he faced more toward Nova. “Anyway! I actually used to run a toy shop, back in the day.”

“You did?” Nova asked, leaning forward in his seat.

“Yeah!” J said, setting down his knife so he could be free to motion with his hands. “It was actually the family business, passed down to me by my mother, and to my mother by her father. Ran it for…” J tilted his head. “I’d say five years? Maybe more?” He shrugged to himself. “I don’t quite remember. It was a good job, though. I got to sit in the back all day most days, working on new toy designs and carving out preexisting ones. The kids in my hometown loved the place.”

“And then you got drafted,” Rin muttered, barely audible from across the fire.

J nodded. “Yeah, and then I got drafted and was forced to shut the place down.” He paused for only a moment, his radar pinging once before he straightened up. “Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not as if I hated working in the Navy or anything. Hell, they had to kick me out just to be able to get rid of me!” He snickered to himself, only to fall quiet again. “I’ll admit though, I miss the shop far more than the Navy. There was nothing quite like seeing a child’s grin when they’d finally saved up enough to buy the doll they’ve set their heart on. _That_ was something special.”

Nova nodded as he watched J intently, listening to his every word until he fell quiet.

“You know,” Nova said, “every time I think I’ve heard it all, you manage to reveal some brand new piece of your life I’ve never even heard about.”

“Well, it’s not as if forty-eight years would be easily summed up in a few conversations,” J chuckled. “It’s just not possible! I mean, for example, despite all the stories I’ve told you about the Navy, I haven’t even _begun_ telling you about how I managed to become an engineer while-”

“ _Alright_ ,” Purl-Hew said, cutting off his father. He stood up from his chair and tucked his phone into his sweater pocket before glancing over at J. “Real quick, Dad, but I want you to know I’m heading inside. It’s getting late.”

J turned to Purl-Hew, tilting his head at him. “What time is it, exactly?”

Purl-Hew shrugged in response as he folded his camping chair. “A little after midnight.”

“12:08am,” Rin specified.

“Oh, shoot,” Eloni muttered, gathering his things and standing up. “I guess I should head in, too.” He paused to look to J. “Hey, Dad. When exactly did you want to get moving again tomorrow?”

“No later than nine hundred hours,” J said, collecting his knife and wood block from the ground before taking to his feet. “That way, we can be home sometime in the evening, giving us time to unpack and decompress.”

“We’re not just gonna drive for eight hours straight, right?” Purl-Hew asked, placing his camping chair under his arm. “Like, I understand if we have to, but I need to mentally prepare myself for that.”

“I believe we have a few stops planned tomorrow,” Nova said. He, too, stood up, folding his camping chair and grabbing his sleeping bag out from underneath it. “A few roadside attractions, if I’m remembering correctly.”

“Oh. Sweet,” Purl-Hew said, pushing his shades onto his forehead and allowing himself a relieved smile. After a moment, he looked over his shoulder and turned to the RV, waving to everyone by the fire as he headed inside. “Anyway,” he said, “‘night Dad. ‘Night Mr. Nova.”

Eloni followed just behind Purl-Hew, waving as he headed into the RV as well. “Goodnight!”

Nova only nodded, while J nodded in the general direction of the RV.

“Goodnight, both of you!”

And with that, only Nova, J, and Rin remained.

“Rin,” J said, sheathing his knife and tucking it somewhere in his coat. “I’m assuming you’ll follow your brothers in a minute?”

Rin sat up at that, turning to J and blinked. “Oh. Yeah,” he muttered, pushing off the ground and staring up, only to stare at the sky once again. “In a minute.”

J nodded, rolling his shoulders and turning to Nova. “Well, I guess I’ll tell you the engineering story tomorrow,” he said, chuckling softly. “Is that alright by you?”

Before he’d even begun to process J’s words, Nova nodded. “Yes, of course,” he said, leaning against the folded camping chair. “I hope you’re aware that I’ll hold you to your word, though.”

“I’d hope you would!” J replied, turning toward his tent with the ping of his radar. “Anyway, I’m tired. I’ll talk to you both in-”

“Wait, Captain,” Rin muttered, squinting at the sky.

Immediately, J turned to Rin. “What is it?”

Rin frowned, looking to J and walking toward him. “There’s some clouds coming up over the trees,” he said, pointing up toward the sky at an angle.

“...And?”

“There could be some precipitation tonight.”

J folded his arms behind his back and tapped his foot on the ground, silent for a moment before straight up again. “How dark are the clouds?”

Rin glanced at the sky again, narrowing his eyes and tilting his head. “It’s hard to tell in the dark, but they seem to be a light gray.”

“Oh, it’ll be fine then,” J said, stepping toward his tent once more, only for Rin to stand in his way.

“What if it isn’t though?” Rin asked, crossing his arms over his chest as his wary eyes flicked toward the clouds. “Wouldn’t it be safer to put a tarp over your tent or something, just in case?”

J shrugged. “It hasn't rained once this entire trip, so I’m confident everything’ll be fine,” he said, ruffling Rin’s hair. “Now, goodnight Rin. Please go charge.”

Rin made a face until J retracted his hand, only nodding after he fixed his hair. “Yes, sir.”

“Thank you,” J said. After taking a moment to orient himself, he walked toward his tent and called over his shoulder, “Goodnight! Both of you!”

Nova forced his own words from his throat, only getting out a measly, “You too.”

And with that, J unzipped the entrance to his tent and crawled inside.

Finally, with J’s absence, Nova could breathe properly again.

Though he should have been relieved, he found himself missing the feeling.

This time, he didn’t allow himself to worry, for the feeling would go away eventually.

He’d deal with it until then.

“Well, here’s hoping it doesn’t end up raining.”

Nova looked to Rin, who stared back at him with a relatively neutral expression.

“I’d have to agree,” Nova replied, glancing at J’s tent. “It would be a shame for our last night of the trip to end with that.”

“Yeah. Exactly.”

Rin paused, clamping his jaw shut for a moment as he seemed to think, allowing a silence to fall over the two as neither made a move to leave. While Rin stared off into the distance just past Nova’s head, Nova shifted his weight, transferring his folded camping chair from one arm to the other.

Finally, Rin looked at the DJ properly and held his hand out. “Here, give me that chair,” he muttered, “I’ll put it away for you.”

Nova held the chair close for an extra moment, tilting his head at Rin and inspecting him.

The boy simply stared back at Nova, unreadable as ever.

“...Thank you,” Nova finally said, dropping the chair into Rin’s hands.

“No problem.”

Before another silence could take root, Rin turned and began walking back to the RV, only to pause just in front of the door to look back at the DJ.

“Well, see you tomorrow, Supernova.”

“Indeed,” Nova replied. “Goodnight.”

“...Yeah.” Rin nodded to himself, looking back to the RV and stepping inside. “Goodnight.”

Nova turned and walked further into the clearing as Rin stepped into the RV. He only went a small distance away from the fire pit, kicking a few sticks and stones out from underneath before unfurling his sleeping bag. He took an extra few seconds to smooth it out before lying down on top of the bag, just in time for the lights in the RV to turn off.

Though the ground certainly wasn’t comfortable, Nova had grown used to it over the past week and a half. If he used the sleeping bag as a mat - which he often did, as the nights were still warm this time of year - it provided just enough cushion between his spine and the ground, allowing Nova to watch the stars until his inevitable slumber.

Tonight wasn’t much different, with the moon waning and the stars arranged as they always were around this time of the year. The only difference in the sky tonight were the clouds Rin had pointed out earlier, slowly creeping up over the treetops.

Instead of focusing on the clouds, though, he focused on the brilliance of the stars, letting his vision and conscious thought wander as he studied each corner of the night sky.

When exactly he fell asleep was something Nova couldn’t pinpoint. What he did remember, though, was the gentle sense of awe that lulled him to slumber.

* * *

A bone-shaking clap of thunder snapped Nova out of his sleep, the sound reverberating through his ribs and spine as he was left scrambling to his feet.

Despite Nova’s hopes and assumptions, a heavy rainfall had apparently begun sometime throughout the night. Clouds now blocked out the night sky in its entirety, leaving an impenetrable darkness in the clearing. Along with the clouds, a strong wind had picked up, tearing branching from their trees and sending them to the ground.

Just as his vision began to adjust to the darkness, a flash of light streaked across the horizon, followed by another rumble of thunder, forcing Nova into the present moment.

Taking a deep breath, Nova glanced down at himself. He’d been drenched by the downpour, and his sleeping bag was already well on its way to suffering the same fate. He wiped some of the droplets off his helmet, glancing around the clearing in an attempt to orient himself and find the RV in the darkness.

Instead, his bleary vision landed on J’s tent, just in time to watch J claw his way out of it.

The dim light of J’s monitor cut through the rain just enough for Nova to see what happened. J had nearly ripped open the door of the tent in order to escape. His shoulders held tension, while his chest rose and fell in a rapid manner. Nova could barely hear the pings of his radar from where he stood.

“J!” Nova called out, grabbing his sleeping bag off the ground.

Immediately, J’s monitor shot in Nova’s direction.

“It rained.”

J’s voice came out oddly shaky and quiet, barely piercing through the sound of the rain.

“I can see that,” Nova replied, throwing the sleeping back over his shoulder and using his free hand to shield his face from the rain as he walked toward J. “Are you alright?”

The display on J’s monitor, now far too bright for Nova’s tired vision, flickered before he nodded.

“Affirmative.”

It almost hurt to hear such a blatant lie.

“We should head inside,” Nova muttered, finally drawing close enough to J to speak at a normal volume. “Is there anything you need help with?”

Taking a breath, J nodded. “I need to bring the qwaza with me,” he said, pointing at his tent with his left arm, which had the forearm panel open and connected to a cord.

“Understood,” Nova replied, leaning over and peering into the absolutely soaked tent.

It was quite small, with only a sleeping bag and the qwaza inside, which connected to J’s cord. Grabbing the qwaza, Nova pulled it out of the tent before looking back to J.

“Anything else?”

“No. The tent’s fucked, it can stay out here,” J replied, marching straight for the RV. “Let’s get inside.”

The short walk to the RV was silent aside from the rain and J’s monitor, with Nova keeping pace with J so that the qwaza stayed connected to the cord. Thankfully, no more thunder rattled throughout the clearing, at least for the time being.

J almost seemed to be getting his breathing in check.

After about a minute of walking, Nova and J stepped into the RV. Luckily, J’s monitor and the multiple qwazas throughout the RV illuminated the interior just enough for Nova to see the exact state of things.

The floor was littered with board games and cards, along with a beanbag, which Purl-Hew had curled up on. On the half-destroyed couch lay Haym, and in the loft bed, Zimelu. Nova could also just make out the silhouettes of Eloni and Rin in the driver and passenger seats, sitting uncannily still. The lights in each of their eyes were absent, and each boy was connected to his own qwaza with a cord similar to J’s.

“Thanks,” J said, his voice quiet as he took the qwaza from Nova’s hands. His hands barely brushed against Nova’s, which was enough to force Nova to let go.

Nova slowly nodded, carefully stepping over Purl-Hew and walking to a cabinet in the kitchen area. Opening the cabinet revealed a whole slew of towels, packed originally for the beach. Grabbing two, he draped one over the qwaza in J’s arms

“I put a towel on the qwaza for you,” he said, placing his own towel over his shoulders… Or, attempting to, anyway. The towel was barely long enough to span his shoulder width. “I’m going to change into something dry. Please be careful if you’re moving around, the floor is a disaster.”

“Thank you, again,” J muttered, taking another shaky breath before speaking once more. “For the help, I mean.”

Nova didn’t have the energy to get worked up over the warmth in his head, instead nodding and searching for his suitcase. “Of course.”

J stood still, simply nodding in response.

“...Well, anyway,” he finally said, his radar pinging, “if you need me, I’m going to pass out in one of the front seats.”

Nova glanced back at J as he set his suitcase on the tiny kitchen counter, digging through it for some spare shorts. “Rin and Eloni already claimed that space, it seems.”

J sighed, tilting his head downward. “I’m guessing the same goes for the couch and loft bed?”

Nova grabbed a pair of shorts, along with the first clean shirt he could find. “Indeed.”

“And you just said the floor’s a mess?”

“I did.”

Rain beat against the metal roof of the RV, while the rustling of the trees was audible from inside. The only sound coming from inside was Nova’s breathing, and the whirring of J’s fans.

J just nodded to himself, his radar pinging as he turned on his heel and headed for the back of the RV. “I’ll leave room for you on the bed, then.”

The realization didn’t hit Nova until after J had left for the bedroom. But when it hit, it hit hard.

Snapping Nova out of his half-asleep daze and forcing him to leave behind any remnants of sleep he might have held onto previously, Nova realized he had no way out of this situation. 

He’d _just_ established that all other options were exhausted, and if he attempted to create one now, it would seem as though he were actively avoiding J once again. He couldn’t do that again.

Though, perhaps if Nova were convincing enough-

_No_. He’d already made this vacation miserable enough for J, and he wasn’t taking any more chances.

He could live with his emotions for one whole night. Besides, there wasn’t anything _that_ special about sharing a bed, especially when it was a necessity caused by outside circumstances. All that would happen is Nova would pass out, wake up in the morning, and it would all be over. Then, tomorrow, Nova would be back home, and the schedule would go back to normal, giving Nova plenty of time to quell his heart before his next meeting with J.

He could do this.

He would live.

So, grabbing his clothes and closing his suitcase, Nova headed to the bathroom to change.

He didn’t make any attempt to be quick, as though delaying the inevitable would help in any way. After changing, he sat in front of the mirror, staring distantly at himself and attempting to school his breathing.

Finally, after who knew how long, Nova finally forced himself to exit the bathroom and turn to the bedroom.

Instead of entering, however, he managed to stall just a little longer by standing in the doorway.

A quick survey of the room found J already under the blankets, lying monitor-down on the edge of the mattress. From what Nova could tell, J had both arms glued to his sides, with the wire from his left arm running down to the qwaza, which had been placed just beside the bed.

Before he could second guess himself, Nova stepped inside and sat down on his half - well, closer to three quarters - of the bed and crawling beneath the covers. He made no contact with J, turning over on his side and facing the wall before settling in.

Neither of them spoke.

Nova preferred to assume that J had simply fallen asleep already.

Rather than getting silence, Nova’s head was instead filled by the rain, along with his own heartbeat. The two noises synchronised to be the perfect noise to keep Nova awake, forcing his vision to stay focused as he stared forward at the wall.

Every time Nova found himself ready to embrace sleep yet again, something crunched, snapped, or crashed outside. The first few times, it was simply Nova tuning back into the unpredictable cacophony crashing against his cranium. The next few, Nova attributed to the wind outside, blowing around pieces of the forest like its playthings.

After what felt to be around thirty minutes of this, something else forced Nova awake.

Thunder, yet again.

Though the clap was slightly muffled by the walls of the RV, it still rattled throughout the room. And just as Nova had begun to process what had woken him up this time, a loud shuffling came from J’s side of the bed.

“...Can’t sleep?” Nova muttered.

The shuffling stopped.

“I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

“No, no. I’ve been awake.”

“Oh.”

The wind shook the branches outside.

“You’ve been awake this whole time?”

“Indeed,” Nova muttered. “The rain's far too loud.”

“Yeah. Agreed.”

After another pause, J sighed, shuffling around as he mostly likely rolled over. “Since there’s no way either of us are passing out anytime soon, wanna just… Talk instead?”

Nova rolled onto his back, finding that J had done the same.

“Sure.”

The rain continued to pound on the roof as neither continued.

“...Why don’t you continue that engineering story of yours from before?” Nova asked. “I’m still quite curious about it, you know.”

“Oh, no. It’s way too long of a story, I’d be talking until sunrise. I’ll tell you that one when we’re on the road again,” J said, allowing himself a soft chuckle. “How about some more about the toy shop instead? I've got plenty of short stories from that period."

“I’ll take that,” Nova replied. “To start you off, you mentioned how you’d often make new designs, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

“What was one of your favorites?”

“Oh, _definitely_ the ballet dancers.” J paused as what sounded like a branch hit the roof of the RV, only to continue. “They were one of my more intricate designs, they took a while to carve and had mechanical innerworkings so the arms could move. I didn’t get to make tons, but they were easily the most fun to work on. Capturing even a little bit of the art of dance in a doll was something I always looked forward to.”

“Ah, that reminds me,” Nova muttered, “you’re a dancer, aren’t you?”

“Damn right, I am.” J let out a snort, turning over onto his side to face Nova. “I mostly just choreograph nowadays, though. I could never actually handle being on stage.”

Nova found himself chuckling. “J, you’re telling me that _you_ of all people shy away from the spotlight?”

“Why else would I have built an entire boyband, instead of just going up on stage myself?”

“...Fair.”

The rain hitting the roof had grown slightly quieter.

“Anyway,” J muttered, “enough about me. Don’t _you_ have any stories from your younger years?”

Nova paused, listening to the wind outside.

“Not really, no,” Nova muttered. “Nothing exciting, anyway.”

“Really? No adventures? No old hobbies? Nothing?”

With a shrug, Nova forced his vision to focus on the ceiling.

“Nothing.”

J’s paused, his monitor dimming in the corner of Nova’s view.

“...I understand. I’m sorry for pushing, you don’t have to-”

“No, no. That’s not it,” Nova sighed. “I mean, I genuinely can’t think of anything. If I had a story, I’d tell it, but everything before my time at the university blurs together.”

“Wait.” J lifted his head up, just a little. “You’re telling me you had _nothing_ exciting happen in your teenage and young adult years?”

“Pretty much.”

“That’s impossible.” J made a motion with his left hand, nearly smacking himself in the face with the power cord. “You had to be doing _something_ during that time.”

“I _was_ doing something.”

“What?”

“I was a student,” Nova muttered. “I spent all my time studying.”

“And you didn’t have any hobbies?”

“Well, I occasionally made music and went stargazing, but that was about it.”

“I could’ve guessed that,” J muttered. “Did you do _anything_ else?”

Nova stared at the ceiling, not daring to glance J’s way.

“No, not really,” he muttered. “I was too busy looking toward the future.”

“...Oh.”

J fell silent, his monitor facing straight ahead as Nova forced himself to lie still.

“Well… Did you get there?”

A chill ran through Nova's spine.

“What?”

“I mean, is this the future you’d hoped for?” J asked, turning his monitor directly to Nova. “Have you made it?”

Nova crossed his arms tight over his chest.

Every sleepless night he'd spent in his dorm working the night away on his latest papers, every time he nearly fell asleep at his desk, and each extra credit assignment he’d taken, Nova had kept his mind locked onto one thing: his future. It had been the only thing that pulled him through university, all those years ago.

Back then, he’d imagined his future in such great detail. With the way technology was advancing at the time, he had planned on being one of the first to set foot on a different planet, all while designing the spacecraft for the journey. He intended for his name to go down in history. He would have been a genius inventor and an explorer, held to some of the highest degrees imaginable for years to come.

Except, by the time he’d graduated, human space travel was no longer the focus. It was all unmanned crafts by then. He’d been forced to teach because of that, to students who couldn’t care less about the world beyond their own, at a university that refused to fund his academic pursuits. If he’d kept up that mantle, his name would have died long before his mortal body ever did. He signed with NSR to stop this, offering what he thought to be a temporary fix to his dilemma.

After sending his first satellite into orbit, however, Nova thought he had finally accomplished his dream.

And then…

Well, the rest was still somewhat of a fresh wound.

“...Not yet,” he finally replied, focusing his vision on J. “Though, I believe I’m currently on the right track. I should be there soon.”

After a pause, J eventually nodded.

“Well, I’m rooting for you,” he murmured, the display on his radar slowly spinning. “I hope you get to wherever it is you wanna be, someday.”

Nova forced himself to take a shaky breath before his lungs could lock up.

“Thank you.”

The noise outside had calmed considerably by now, with the rain only lightly tapping at the roof while the wind seemed to have died down to a moderate level.

“I’m going to try and sleep now,” Nova muttered, glancing over at J. “I have to drive tomorrow, after all.”

J nodded in understanding, his monitor continuing to dim. “Sleep well,” he said, patting Nova on the shoulder. “And goodnight, hopefully for the last time tonight.”

Nova waited for J to retract his hand, taking a breath before muttering, “And you, too," he murmured. "Goodnight”

J made a noise of agreement, tucking his hand close to his chest as his monitor finally went dark.

Rather than attempting to settle in, Nova continued to stare at J, unable to ignore his aching heart.

Nova’s earlier fears had been widely misplaced, it seemed. He could survive one night of this, easily.

What he feared was how he would fare every night after, from here on.

* * *

The last day of the trip managed to be relatively uneventful.

Nova and J had woken up relatively early and had already prepared to head home by the time the boys powered on. From there, it seemed the rain followed the RV everywhere it went, and though the weather wasn’t _nearly_ as bad as it had been the night before, the winds managed to keep up, while a light drizzle continued on and off throughout the day.

It wasn’t until they were well into the Metro Division that the rain finally ceased.

Indeed, as Nova turned down one of the last few roads of the trip, the sun finally made its appearance. The golden afternoon light nearly blinded Nova, reflecting off of the wet pavement and the clouds with a rare sort of intensity, forcing the DJ out of his driving-induced daze.

The first thing Nova caught were the last few notes of a song Purl-Hew had played on the RV’s stereo, closing out with the sound of waves crashing against the beach.

“And that’s what I’ve got so far,” Purl-Hew said, standing just behind J’s seat. “I’m gonna keep working on it, but I wanted to show off the sounds I sampled at the beach.”

“Wait,” Rin said, his voice coming from somewhere further back in the RV. “You did all this in three days?”

“Four, actually!” Purl-Hew said, still hovering near his father. “I started working on the melody before we hit the beach.”

“Oh. Wow,” Rin muttered. “That was really good. Especially for only taking four days to make.”

“I really liked the sorta-reprise bit toward the end.” Eloni added, his voice coming from nearby wherever Rin sat. 

“Really? I thought it was kinda bare,” Purl-Hew said. “I’m thinking about putting some whale noises there and mixing them in.”

“Oh, that’d be really cool,” Zimelu said, his voice coming from the loft bed.

“And you managed all this just with your music lessons?” J chimed in, tilting his head.

Nova could barely see Purl-Hew’s beaming grin out of the corner of his vision.

“Yeah!”

J chuckled. “Good job,” he said, keeping his monitor pointed straight ahead. “I’m glad to see you’re learning something.”

Purl-Hew nodded. “Thanks, Dad,” he said, reaching over the seat and patting J on the shoulder before heading back to his brothers.

“Dude, you should put that song out on the internet or something,” Haym said, his voice coming from somewhere near the couch.

“Maybe. I’d have to do it anonymously, though,” Purl-Hew mused, his metal footsteps heading toward the back of the RV.

As the boys continued to chatter, Nova pulled down a more secluded road.

“J, I’m going to need you to input the passcode to the garage here in a moment,” Nova said, slowing the vehicle as the back gate of Baracca Mansion came into view.

“Ah, right!” J said, immediately unbuckling his seatbelt and jumping to his feet.

As Nova pulled to a stop parallel to the gate, J hurried around to the door and hopped out of the motorhome. From the driver’s seat, Nova watched as J walked to the gate, punching a number into the pinpad before turning around and marching back to the RV.

Once J had made it about half of the way back to the RV, a section of the road parallel to the gate suddenly rose, propped up at an angle like a trapdoor. It revealed a long ramp, leading downward, below the ground and toward the garage.

As J jumped back into the RV and shut the door behind him, Nova continued forward, driving down into the tunnel. The moment there was clearance, the large door shut behind the RV, leaving only the above head lights of the tunnel to guide Nova through.

After a turn to the right and a few seconds of driving, Nova finally brought the RV back into the garage of Barraca Mansion, where he parked it and pulled the keys from the ignition.

“And we’re back,” he announced, unbuckling his seatbelt and taking to his feet.

“Boys, grab some of your things before you just leave,” J said, opening the door of the RV once more. “You can go put your stuff away, but I want you all to come back and help unload the RV, alright?”

A chorus of muttered agreement came from the boys, who all shuffled around to gather their backpacks or bags.

“I can’t believe the trip’s over so soon,” Zimelu muttered, hopping down from the loft bed and walking toward his brothers. “It feels like we just left.”

“Well, I guess we’ll have to do something like this again sometime!” Eloni chuckled.

“It should be soon, though,” Haym said.

Purl-Hew nodded. “Annually, at least.”

Rin remained quiet as he grabbed his belongings.

As the boys chatter, Nova walked past them to find his suitcase, which had apparently been shoved into the oven. Collecting his suitcase, though, he headed out of the RV and turned to J, who had already exited the motorhome.

“Do you need any more help unpacking,” Nova said, “or do you think the boys will be enough help?”

“Oh, you’ve helped plenty over the course of this trip,” J chuckled, stepping toward Nova. “The boys can help out with this one. You deserve to get home and rest.”

“I see,” Nova muttered, glancing around the garage and grabbing his phone from his pocket. “In that case, you wouldn’t know the bus schedule around here, would-”

“Nova, please don’t tell me you’re planning on taking the bus home.”

Nova glanced up from his phone. “Why not? It’s the most logical option”

“Because you just drove my entire family around for ten days?” J replied, laughing in what seemed to be disbelief. “Let me give you a ride home,” he said, turning around and walking across the garage toward his motorcycle. “It’ll be faster.”

Oh.

Considering the state of Nova’s emotions, this was a terrible idea.

So, he followed after J.

“J, are you sure?” Nova asked, fighting to keep his words steady as his heart threatened to jump to his throat. “You’ve had a long week and a half, too. Wouldn’t it be easier for you to just stay here, unload the RV, and relax with the boys for the night?”

“Nova, I insist,” J replied, pulling his keyring from his coat as he drew close to the motorcycle. “You deserve to relax, too.”

Nova wished he were mulling it over, but his mind was too weak to fight against his heart.

“...Fine,” he muttered, walking to the motorcycle and standing beside J. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” J chuckled, hopping onto his motorcycle and starting the bike. After the engine started and evened out, J turned in the direction of the RV, where the boys were unloading everything.

“Boys!” He called out, “I’ll be back in a bit! I’m going to take Nova home!”

Immediately, all of the boys stopped what they were doing to look to the DJ.

“Thanks for driving, Mr. DJ!” Eloni said, smiling as he waved.

Purl-Hew was next, pushing his shades to his forehead. “See you Wednesday!”

Zimelu and Haym both said their goodbyes before returning to their tasks.

Lastly, Rin offered Nova a small wave.

“Bye,” he called out.

“Goodbye, boys,” Nova replied, waving to them all. “Have a good night!”

J chuckled, his radar pinging once. “Alright, Nova. Hop on,” he said, connecting his monitor to the GPS screen in the motorcycle.

Nova nodded, taking a seat on the back of the motorcycle before he could panic and backpedal his way out of it.

He only hesitated for a moment before grabbing J’s waist.

Hopefully, J wouldn’t notice the shaking in his hands.

“You’re going to need to hold on a bit tighter once we start going faster,” J chuckled, moving the motorcycle forward at a decent pace before heading toward the tunnel out of the garage. “If you don’t, you’ll fall off the moment we hit the freeway!”

“Ah- yes,” Nova muttered, tightening his grip. “Of course.”

Soon, they reached the ramp leading to the outside, with the secret door lifting up automatically just in time for J to drive back into natural sunlight.

As the fresh air hit Nova’s face, J laughed, tearing down the secluded road and heading straight back for the main road.

“So, same rules as last time!” J shouted over the engine and rapid pinging of his radar, “if there’s a stop light or police, warn me!”

Nova tightened his grip even further as the motorcycle gained speed. “Try not to crash us!”

J laughed.

“I won’t!”

Soon, they found their way onto the main road, where J zipped past any other vehicle on the street.

Despite the migraine inducing brightness of the Metro Division, there was a strange, dreamlike beauty in the way each light blended together and glowed on the still-wet pavement. The setting sun sent pinks and golds across the neon landscape, providing a kaleidoscope sort of view.

“Yellow light up ahead!” Nova called out.

J nodded, speeding up. “Gotcha!”

Despite J’s blatant disregard for the law, Nova felt no fear, but a calm sense of fondness.

He would work on this later. He could focus on returning everything to normal starting tomorrow.

So he leaned in just a little closer to J tonight, while he still could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not immune to There Was Only One Bed
> 
> Anyway, the big Vibe Song for this chapter was Sit Down Beside Me by Patrick Watson. It really helped me with the whole mood of this one, specially the middle section!! :)


	15. Focus Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so: AAAAAAAAAAA
> 
> Thank you everyone so much for the support thus far!! I'm seriously reeling at the fact that this fic has hit 1000 kudos. I've said it a thousand times, but it really just makes me so happy to know that you all are enjoying this work!!
> 
> Here's to the beginning of the second half of the fic! <3

The days following Nova’s return home had proven to be uneventful on all accounts, and he couldn’t have asked for better.

Before he'd even had a chance to overthink the events of the road trip, Nova had found himself swamped with the work that had piled up during his time away. With District affairs to organize, upcoming concerts to plan for, and personal projects to work on, he simply didn’t have the time to idly mull over little details and feelings. He had too much to get done.

Already, after less than a week, the days had begun to blur together into nothing but work. Every day followed a similar schedule; Nova would wake up, have his morning coffee, and go about his business. Everything related to the District was relegated to the daytime, while he slowly shifted to focusing on his more personal or creative endeavors come nightfall. Then, eventually, he’d fall asleep on the couch out of pure exhaustion, only to wake up the next day and repeat the cycle.

With this schedule, he was allowed to lose himself in the safety of the steady rotation of his work, moving forward at all times.

Well, most of the time.

All rules had their exceptions.

Normally, Nova only worked on things that promised to further his career. When he first became a charter, he built up Cast Tech so that the citizens would appreciate his genius in more ways than one. Meanwhile, he invested time in songs he both enjoyed making and that would appeal to the whims of the masses, boosting his popularity within NSR - and maybe even beyond that - even further, just as he’d intended when he first signed on with the label.

Instead of working on something that would help his career, though, Nova sat by the kitchen window as he waited for Tatiana to return one of his calls. While he waited, he sat at his laptop, making music that would get him absolutely nowhere in the long run.

At least, not outwardly.

He had a plan, though.

Since he had no clue as to how long it would take for Tatiana to respond, Nova hadn’t allowed himself to zone in to anything of value. He was far too tired to screen any more requests surrounding the changes to Cast Tech, and if he began work on his serious music now, there was the overwhelming possibility of forgetting about Tatiana entirely.

However, waiting around and doing nothing was easily the worst path to take in this scenario.

Since he’d come home, every time Nova allowed himself to sit back and relax, his thoughts inevitably landed back on the events of the road trip at some point. From there, it was only a matter of time until Nova found himself in a vortex of anxieties he could do nothing about.

So, he’d found a way to cope.

Every time he had to wait or sit around for whatever reason, no matter how small, Nova had turned to music. He didn’t work on anything worthy of being considered concert material, though. This song was one Nova only worked on for small portions at a time each day, leaving it far less polished and complete than anything else he'd made in years.

This was fine, though, for the song served a purpose other than bringing him notoriety.

Instead, the song offered Nova a way to rid himself of - or at the very least, _move_ \- the emotions that had plagued him these past two weeks, allowing him to focus properly on his actual work once he could get back to it. He placed all the emotions that threatened to bubble over into this piece, creating an auditory mirror into his own psyche. And, though the time Nova spent working on these pieces was terribly uncomfortable, he preferred the half hour of discomfort over half a day’s worth of paralysis, brought about by the lack of an outlet.

Anyway, tonight, Nova had finally “finished” the piece, in a sense. Though it was imperfect, experimental, and far too raw for Nova’s taste, it had come to its logical conclusion melody-wise. Therefore, he considered it done. He wouldn’t edit the piece from here on, nor would he ever come back to it after he closed the tab.

...Though, before Nova moved on, he should have probably taken a moment to listen to the song just once. Just to hear how it turned out. 

So, glancing out the window and at the twilight falling over Vinyl City, Nova pressed play on the relatively short song.

There was little build up leading to the main body of the song, with notes falling softly in the background while the melody laced itself together with a sort of gentleness that felt terribly out of place for Nova’s style. The music ebbed and flowed with a strange sort of power, and yet, didn’t overwhelm as one would expect.

Overall, the piece wasn’t half bad. With some adjustments, most could listen to the tune and hear nothing more than a relaxing, soft piece to end off an album with.

Except to Nova, the music almost physically hurt to listen to. Each nearly-hummed note and floating tune directly correlated to his recent state of emotions. More mechanical sounds had made their way in, while a sense of distance held steadfast throughout the song, leaving all five of Nova’s senses buzzing. Despite this, though, the music managed to bring about a strange calm, all while evoking a sense of longing for that which Nova knew wasn’t there.

For something he knew would _never_ be there.

Finally, the song ended as suddenly as it began, with one melancholy note holding out for an extra second before cutting off and leaving Nova in the silence of his penthouse once more.

Oddly enough, rather than being left with some sort of terrible feeling, Nova found himself breathing deep as a wave of catharsis washed over him.

Now, he certainly didn’t feel _good_. The music had forcefully dragged all his emotions to the surface, and the aching within his heart would likely stick around for an hour or so before it began fading.

However, Nova’s thoughts didn’t swirl into a hurricane of anxiety the instant the song was over.

Aside from the dull pain in his heart, Nova was left feeling oddly blank, nearly empty as he watched a blinking tower in the distance.

It was strange.

At least he wasn’t overthinking, though.

...Anyhow, with that now over, it was time for the last step of Nova’s plan.

From the beginning, Nova had promised himself that he would delete this song upon its completion, letting it fade into nothing but a burning memory before being lost to time.

Hopefully, his infatuation would follow suit soon after.

Eventually, at least. Nova was under no delusion that these emotions would vanish on a whim, but he hoped that by moving on from the song, it would help the process in a way.

He just needed to actually delete the song.

It wasn’t as though it was difficult, by any means. The task only took a few clicks of the mouse.

So why did Nova continue to stare at his screen, unmoving?

Before he could answer his own question, Nova’s ringtone echoed off the walls of the kitchen.

 _Finally_. Nova had been beginning to wonder if Tatiana would ever actually call him back.

Wasting no time, Nova shoved his laptop out of his way to gather a stack of notebooks sitting just beside it. With one hand, as well as his focus, Nova flipped through the pages of one of the notebooks with haste. With his other hand, Nova grabbed his phone, which had sat screen down on the counter.

Finding the correct page of notes, Nova answered the phone without looking and brought it to his helmet.

“Good evening, Tatiana,” Nova said in a practiced tone, scanning over his notebook as he continued without pause. “I know it’s relatively late, but this should-”

He was cut off by a snicker.

“Nova, you may want to get your vision checked if you managed to misread my name as Tatiana’s.”

Nova choked on his words upon hearing J’s voice.

Of course he’d call _now_. Nova could’ve survived a chat with J at literally _any other time_ , but J had instead managed to call at the worst possible point possible, a point where Nova’s song still rang throughout his head and yanked at his heartstrings.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t as though Nova could just hang up and call J back later.

He’d have to continue forward.

“Apologies, J. It’s been a long day. I was expecting a call from Tatiana,” Nova managed to mutter, leaning back in his chair as the ache in his heart manifested almost instantly.

He would’ve been more worried were he not used to the ache by now.

“Yeah, I gathered,” J replied, his tone softening by an iota. “Aside from that, though, how’re you doing?”

“I’m just attempting to catch up on work. Nothing special,” Nova said, standing up and pacing through the kitchen in an attempt to keep his head clear. “What about you?”

“Just about the same. I’ve been trying to get the boys’ rehearsals back in order again, along with a dozen other things. You know the drill.” Nova could hear the handwave in J’s voice as he spoke. “Anyway! Speaking of getting things in order, that’s part of why I called.”

“Is it, now?”

“Affirmative. I wanted to ask about when you next wanted to meet about the satellite. I’m currently trying to figure out the boys’ next month’s worth of concerts and such, and I wanted to make sure I left room for you in the schedule.”

“Oh, right,” Nova muttered. “Monday evening should be fine, but I can’t promise anything.” He leaned against his kitchen counter, stretching out his free arm. “I’m waiting for Tatiana to call me back so I can schedule an in-person meeting with her. It’ll be a fairly important discussion around an event for Cast Tech’s community, so until I’ve confirmed a time and date for that, nothing’s guaranteed.”

“Ah, yeah. I getcha,” J said. “In that case, then, just text me once you’ve got things sorted out. I’ll keep Monday as a placeholder until then, though. Just in case.”

“Sounds good.”

Only a brief pause followed, which Nova used to take a deep breath, grounding himself before he pushed off the counter to pace again.

“You know,” Nova continued, “whenever I get to meet with Tatiana, I should look into finding a day where we can present the satellite to her. What days work for you?”

J stayed silent for a moment before responding.

“...What?” He asked, his voice falling flat. “I’m sorry, don’t think I follow.”

“Ah, right. I should explain.” Nova ran his hand along the length of his countertop as he moved about. “I was looking over the blueprints after I returned home, and I noticed that they're getting fairly close to completion,” he stated. “Considering our normal rate of progress, we should realistically be done with the new design in around half a month, maybe three weeks at most. Either way, I want to present the satellite to Tatiana as soon as possible so that we can begin production.”

“Damn, we’re already _that_ close to finishing the thing?” J asked, throwing in an oddly subdued chuckle. “It doesn’t sound right. When I saw those blueprints before the trip, we still had tons of components to work on. I thought it’d take at least another six weeks, at least.”

“You’re correct about the number of pieces, but they’re all either simple parts or already conceptually sound,” Nova said, sitting back down at the kitchen table and staring at the music program still open on his laptop. “In reality, we only have about three more major areas to figure out. After that, though, with a little preparation we could be ready to present the device around the beginning of November.”

“...Oh.”

After yet another uncomfortable pause, a nondescript shout came from somewhere in the distance on J’s end.

“Hey, I’d best let you go. It sounds like Zimelu’s calling me over,” J muttered, his voice staying uncharacteristically even as he spoke. “Here’s hoping you can get in touch with Tatiana soon. I’ll chat with you later.”

“Indeed,” Nova said. “Have a good evening, J.”

“Yeah.”

J was the one who hung up, putting the poor conversation out of its misery.

Setting his phone on the table, Nova sighed.

After being around J for a week and a half, one would think Nova would know how to converse with the man. Instead, it seemed that his ability to communicate with J had disappeared in the few days Nova had gone without seeing him.

He couldn’t even blame his infatuation in this situation. While everything was still somewhat raw from the music piece, Nova had experienced _far_ worse during the trip, and he’d managed to communicate then.

So then, what had made _this_ conversation so terrible?

Honestly, as much as Nova wished to understand the error on his part, he had no desire to think about that conversation any longer.

...Anyway, speaking of things Nova wished to forget.

Turning his focus back onto his laptop, Nova stared at the music program displayed across the screen like a taunt.

He could’ve easily deleted the song while he was on the phone.

_Why hadn’t he just done so, then?_

He had no excuse. It was an easy task.

Physically, at least.

Nova forced himself to open his files, where the song sat in one of his folders.

Two clicks away.

Nova managed to right click on the file, bringing his cursor down to the delete button...

And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

He simply couldn’t will himself to click the delete button.

So, instead, Nova dug through his files, hiding the music deep within the darkest corner of his laptop where it would never reach another person's ears again.

As Nova exited his files, a tone came from his phone, lighting up the screen as it displayed a text from Tatiana.

Nova sighed as he grabbed his cellphone, slumping forward at his kitchen table.

He’d attempt to delete the piece some other time, after he’d gotten over himself and returned to normal.

Whenever that would be.

Until then, though, he needed to get back to work.

* * *

“Tatiana,” Nova said, setting his briefcase down as he took a seat at the table NSR’s CEO had already claimed. “You’re here early.”

The two were seated at a private, outdoor seating area at one of the cafes in Dream Fever. The pinks, purples, and whites, along with the clean style of architecture blended to create a relatively pleasant viewing experience throughout the District. Even the abstract sculptures littered throughout, though certainly not the DJ’s cup of tea, added to the overall atmosphere of something as small and insignificant as a cafe.

“Actually, I arrived on time, precisely at three,” Tatiana replied, taking a sip of coffee from a hot pink mug with an impossible structure. “You, on the other hand, are six minutes late.”

“Well, I _did_ just come all the way from Cast Tech,” Nova muttered, settling into his seat.

“Yes, I’m aware.” Tatiana set her mug down as she raised an eyebrow at Nova. “I’m assuming your delayed arrival was due to non other but traffic?

Nova shrugged in response. “Somewhat,” he said. “It also had much to do with the fact that Vinyl City’s public transit is terribly subpar.” He paused as he attempted to get comfortable in the far-too-small seat provided. “If there’s anything I’ve learned since the Rock Revolution, it’s that our city’s bus system needs a complete overhaul.”

“I see,” Tatiana muttered, her fiery hair glowing just a tad bit brighter than before as she narrowed her eyes in what seemed to be thought. “In that case, then, I suppose we’ll have to schedule a time to talk about our city’s public transit in detail.” She paused, placing her hands on the table, folding one over the other. “Perhaps at the next NSR meeting?”

“I’ll bring a list of complaints.”

Before Tatiana could respond, a young lady approached the table with an elegant tray in hand, with one of the impossible mugs resting atop it.

“Four shot espresso for Nova?” She asked, offering Nova a tired, yet practiced smile.

“Indeed,” Nova replied, nodding to the woman as she set the mug down on the table. “Thank you.”

“Mhm!” She placed the tray beneath her arm as she stepped back. “Have a good afternoon,” she said, turning on her heel and hurrying back into the cafe.

As Nova inspected his coffee, he caught Tatiana staring at him with raised eyebrows.

“What is it?”

Tatiana stared at the DJ with an unreadable expression. “Is Nova the name you’re going by, now?”

Nova tapped a finger against his mug, shrugging as he moved his gaze away. “In casual settings, yes.”

“I see.” She tilted her head only by one degree. “So then, what would you deem this occasion?”

“If you wish to use Nova when referring to me, you’re free to do so.” He brought his gaze back to Tatiana. “Though I’d prefer that my full name is used in mixed company.”

Tatiana nodded. “Understood,” she said, taking a sip of her drink. Meanwhile, Nova held his mug in his hands, testing the glass to see if his coffee had cooled down in any way.

“So then, _Nova_ ,” Tatiana said, “since this is a more casual meeting than I first thought, I’d like to ask you a question.”

“Go on.”

Tatiana offered Nova a close-lipped, yet somewhat relaxed smile. 

“How was your vacation?”

Nova shifted in his seat, setting his coffee on the table. “It was… Fine,” he muttered. “The sky was quite nice on the road, without the light pollution.”

“I take it you found the trip relaxing, then?”

Nova let out a short laugh.

“Heavens no. The boys are far too much of a handful to relax around,” he replied, reclining in his seat. “Haym’s antics alone were enough to raise my blood pressure tenfold.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised in the case of Haym. He’s always been quite… Novel,” Tatiana replied, allowing herself a slight chuckle as well. “Didn’t he attempt to disappear in the ocean with Purl-Hew?”

Nova shivered, nodding. “We couldn’t find either of them for half an hour. They only came back after Eloni went into the water and-” he paused, tilting his head to the side. “I’m sorry, when did you hear about this?”

“J and I had a chat the other day about the trip.”

The mere mention of J’s name sent Nova’s stomach to his throat.

“Ah.”

Nova tapped on the side of his mug before willing himself to speak once more.

“Well, in that case, I’m sure you’ve already heard everything there is to know. There’s no reason for me to rehash everything,” he said, staring down at his coffee. “Besides, I have to be somewhere by five thirty. Let’s not waste any more time idly chatting.”

“Of course,” Tatiana said, leaning forward in her seat. “You told me that this meeting was about your educational event for Club Planetarium?”

Nova offered Tatiana a curt nod. “I’ve scheduled the event to take place two weeks from now, and I need help getting the word out.”

Tatiana raised an eyebrow at the DJ.

“You want me to help you with publicity only two weeks before the actual date?”

“It’s not meant to be a concert, but rather, a fundraiser for a community venue in Cast Tech,” Nova replied. “It doesn’t _need_ to bring in an overwhelming audience.”

Tatiana sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Though I’m sure we can figure something out, it would have been a lot easier had you come to me with this sooner,” she muttered. After taking a moment to breathe, she looked back to Nova with slightly narrowed eyes. “Now, we have no time to waste. Do you have a notebook?”

Nova nodded, pulling a pen and a small notebook from his jacket pocket.

With a curt nod, Tatiana leaned forward in her seat. “Good. Let’s begin by brainstorming.”

* * *

Two and a half hours later, Nova was walking through the far-too-familiar streets of the Metro Division.

While discussions from his meeting with Tatiana earlier still rattled through Nova’s head like the contents of his briefcase, they were quickly drowned out by thoughts about the satellite. Along with the satellite, though, came an odd sense of excitement from getting to see J and the boys again for the first time in over a week.

It almost made him ill.

Despite this excitement, though, Nova had prepared himself for this meeting.

He planned to keep his composure for the duration of his routine visit by sheer force of will.

Luckily, with the satellite growing ever-closer to being finished, Nova had his end goal to remember when emotions got in the way: his legacy. No petty infatuation could get in the way of such a thing, and thus far, he had managed to keep his emotions in check from the bus ride from Dream Fever until now. Therefore, this mindset must have been working in some sort of way.

That, or his emotions were finally beginning to burn out.

It hurt to hope it was the latter.

Before Nova could truly understand the root of his relative calm, he was snapped out of his thoughts by the racket in the distance as he approached the side gate of Baracca Mansion.

Though Nova was far out of the view of the front gate, he could hear the cacophony that came from the area. The noise was distinctly human, indicating a likely harmless, yet enthusiastic crowd in the main square of the Metro Division.

Now, people gathered by Baracca Mansion’s front gate was by no means a new occurrence. Tourists and citizens alike frequented the spot, especially with the front of the property being connected to the main square. For all Nova knew, a tour group could have simply been visiting and taking pictures.

And yet, despite that, the crowd sounded far larger than it usually did.

Strange.

Instead of dwelling on it, Nova approached the side gate.

No movement came from the cameras, and the speaker didn’t turn on to spit out the voice of one of the boys or J. Nova had expected this though, for today, J had given him the code to the gate. This made the whole ordeal of visiting far easier. Now, instead of being forced to go through the extra steps of calling J and having the gate unlocked from the inside, Nova could just walk right into Baracca Mansion.

Well, he hoped so, at least.

Nova had been forced to memorize the code before destroying all evidence of it at J’s request, so now, he could only hope he remembered it correctly.

And, staring at the pinpad, his confidence wavered.

Tentatively, Nova began the process, slowly going through each number in the eight-digit sequence. It started off simple enough, though by the fifth digit, Nova relied off of hope rather than memory. By the final digit, Nova pressed the enter button with the full expectation that he would be denied and forced to call J anyway.

But instead, the gate unlocked and fell ajar.

Nova shouldn’t have been surprised. His mind was one of the sharpest out there. Remembering a simple code was _nothing_.

Though, that didn’t mean Nova couldn’t take a moment to feel proud of himself.

After basking in his intellect for a second, Nova stepped past the gate before shutting it behind him. From there, Nova hurried to the side door of Baracca Mansion, grabbing the handle and turning it without a second thought.

Only to find it locked.

...Of course it was.

Nova couldn’t even find it in him to be annoyed at J. He’d probably just locked the doors out of a force of habit, knowing him.

Even so, this meant Nova would be forced to call anyway, completely negating the need to memorize the pin to the gate.

Before he called, though, he attempted knocking on the door. Just to see if his work hadn’t been for naught.

And instead of being met with complete silence, a loud crash came from the other end, followed by a shocked, yet somewhat frustrated yelp.

Nova paused, listening closely for another sound before knocking on the door once more, this time softer. “Is all well in there?” he called out.

There was a pause, followed by a muffled noise that sounded like an “oh”. Immediately after, shuffling and clicking noises came from the door before it flung open, revealing Haym standing just inside. His hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he had his leather jacket draped over his shoulder as he stared at Nova.

After a brief moment of silence, Haym let out a slightly strained laugh as he stepped aside. “Hey, DJ! I forgot you were coming over today,” he said, chuckling as he looked past Nova and at the gate. “Sorry ‘bout the wait. For a second, I thought one of the ‘visitors’ outside had gotten past the fence.”

Nova tilted his head as he stepped inside. “Is that a common occurrence for you?”

Haym shook his head as he closed and subsequently locked the door behind the DJ. “Nah. Aside from Bunk Bed Junction, nobody’s actually gotten past the security since before I woke up.” He turned away from the door, walking to a wall where he’d propped up three bolts of fabric and a sewing basket. “We _have_ had a lot of fans patrolling the fence since we got back, though.”

“I noticed that.” Nova took another few steps further into the hallway as Haym collected his sewing supplies. “Do you have any clue as to what’s sparked the sudden shift?”

Haym shrugged, putting on his leather jacket, which now featured embroidered patterns of all sorts, before slinging the bolts of fabric over his shoulder and balancing them with his hand. “Zi thinks they’ve gotten antsy due to our break. We’ve only had one concert in the past two weeks, after all.”

“Ah, I see,” Nova muttered.

“Yeah” Haym paused, adjusting his leather jacket with his somewhat free hand. “Anyways! I’m guessing you wanna see my dear old dad?”

Nova nodded, glancing down the hall. “I’m assuming he’s in the workroom?”

Haym snickered in response. “Nope, lounge.” He started down the hallway, waving with his hand with the basket in it for Nova to follow. “Here, I’ll show you where it’s at.”

Nova did as asked, sticking close to Haym as he followed him down what seemed to be the route toward the main room. As he walked, instead of studying the wall decor, he inspected what seemed to be an attempt at a peacock embroidered into the back of the left shoulder of Haym’s jacket.

“Haym,” Nova muttered, taking his gaze off the peacock, “your jacket’s coming along quite nicely.”

Taking a moment to glance down at his jacket, Haym grinned as he continued forward. “Thanks!” he said, “I’ve been working on it whenever I’ve had the chance.”

“I’m assuming that’s the reason you choose to wear it around the house?”

“Part of it.” Haym spun around, walking backwards as he spoke with an easy smile. “I mostly wear it around here because I don’t get to wear it anywhere else, since we’ve gotta be uniform and all.”

“That’s fair.”

Nova narrowly avoided colliding with the bolts of fabric as Haym turned a sudden corner.

“I have another question for you,” Nova said, moving to Haym’s side and putting a slight distance between them both.

Haym nodded. “Shoot.”

“What on earth compelled you to roam around the house with fabric and a sewing kit? This end of the mansion is entirely out of the way of pretty much everything.”

Haym merely tilted his head as he walked. “I left my sewing stuff in the sunroom this morning, and we’re all hanging out in the living room now.” His smile faltered as he furrowed his brow. “Well, ‘cept Rin,” he muttered. “He’s hiding again, so I made a detour to see if I could find him and make sure he’s included.”

“No luck, I presume?”

“Nope.”

Nova sighed as they passed by a window with the curtains drawn.

“I don’t understand,” he muttered, “does he not realize that I don’t roam around the house when I visit?”

“Dude, I know your whole thing is thinking you’re the center of the universe and all, but it’s not a you thing,” Haym said, barely holding back a laugh. “I mean, it _was_ a you thing for a while there, but I think he’s finally getting over whatever weird beef he has with you.” He shifted the bolts of fabric on his shoulder as he allowed himself a full frown. “Thing is, though, Rin’s always just been kinda… Distant.”

A strange, yet somewhat familiar ache crawled into Nova’s chest.

“Is that so?”

Haym nodded. “It’s like he’s always late to the party,” he muttered. “I mean, it isn’t surprising for him. He took _forever_ to wake up for the first time. Like, I woke up only a week after Purl, but it took Rin a full two months after me before he started having sentient thought. Then, it took him another two to actually let anyone know about it.” He stopped in the last hall before the main room, lowering his voice. “I don’t wanna say he got left behind, but he has a hard time catching up to the rest of us, if that makes any sense.”

Before Nova could respond, Haym sped forward, forcing Nova to catch up with him as they walked into the front room.

The room was, as usual, arranged completely different to last time Nova had visited. The couch had been pushed to where it faced the television, which played some sort of action movie, at an angle. Just beside the TV sat three flowering potted plants, shoved to the side for the time being. On the floor sat Purl-Hew and Zimelu, working on the jigsaw puzzle Nova had given Purl-Hew ages ago, while Eloni sat to the side looking over a few tattered blueprints.

Unsurprisingly, Purl-Hew was the first to take notice of the DJ, waving at him with a smile.

“Hey, Mr. Nova.”

“Good evening,” Nova said, straying toward the boys as Haym beelined toward the couch. “How are you all?”

“Fine,” Purl-Hew replied. “We had a promotional thing for some car earlier, but we’re just chilling out now.”

Zimelu glanced up from the pile of edge pieces he’d sorted, wearing the slightest smile as he pointed at the plants. “Plus, Dad got some plants for the house, so I’d say today’s better than most.”

Nova nodded to Purl-Hew before turning his attention to the last of the boys. “And what of you, Eloni?”

“Pretty good!” Eloni said, glancing up from the blueprints wearing a grin. “I found some of Dad’s old toy blueprints in the attic. They’re fascinating to look at.”

“Actually, we found the blueprints,” Haym snickered, throwing all his sewing supplies on the couch. “You barely know how to navigate the attic.”

“Haym, _nobody_ knows how to navigate the attic,” Zimelu said, giving his brother a flat look. “You keep rearranging the thing every five seconds.”

“I’m not rearranging it, I’m just going through all of the junk up there.” Haym turned away from the couch, walking toward the hall that led to the kitchen. “Anyway, DJ, you ready to go?”

Nova nodded, holding his briefcase close as he waved to the rest of the boys. “I’ll talk to you all on my way out.”

Eloni and Zimelu waved in return before going back to their respective activities. Purl-Hew, however, looked to Haym.

“Are you gonna join us once you’re done leading Mr. Nova around?”

Haym nodded, turning around and walking backward into the hall. “Yeah, after I find Rin.”

With that, Purl-Hew looked back down at the puzzle. “Gotcha.”

Haym turned around and walked forward once more as Nova followed him into the hall.

There wasn’t even time for a new conversation to spring up, as Haym led Nova past the kitchen and down the hall before they came across an open door.

Haym walked into the room first, with Nova following. The room was lined with bookshelves and bathed in a soft glow. It was warm in both color and temperature, with reds and browns accenting the room, while the sound of a crackling fireplace filled the air. The carpet was plush underneath Nova’s feet, and old photos of battleships adorned the mantle. And for the centerpiece of the room, a simple and relatively small couch stood, with its back turned to the door and J sitting in it.

It was so terribly familiar...

 _Ah_.

It was one of the rooms the boys had dragged Nova to during the wild goose chase that was his first visit.

Before Nova even had a chance to bring this up, though, Haym had marched straight over to the couch.

“Hey, Pops!” he said, “the DJ’s here, and-”

As Nova caught up with Haym, he was made privy to the reason he paused.

While J turned to Haym, so did Rin, who sat on the floor a short distance from the fireplace, leaning against the coffee table set in front of the couch.

“Dude, I’ve been looking for you for like, half an hour,” Haym muttered, placing his hands on his hips. “I even texted you.”

Rin stared back at Haym, simply blinking before rising to his feet in a rigid manner. “I left my phone in my room,” he shrugged, running a hand through his hair as his eyes focused on the world around him. “Why’d you need me?”

“We’re all hanging out in the living room if you wanna join us,” Haym said, putting on a small, genuine smile. “Purl and Zi finally got out that jigsaw puzzle out, and they’re already asking around for help.”

Rin nodded softly, placing both arms by his side. “I’ll meet you in the living room.” He looked to J, offering him a salute. “Captain, I’ll talk to you later,” he said, turning away and offering Nova a small wave before hurrying out of the room.

J nodded to Rin, waving to him as his radar pinged. The moment Rin left the room, though, he turned to Nova.

“So, how’d the code work out for you?” He asked, tilting his monitor to the side.

The combination of J’s voice, along with seeing him in person once more was enough to make Nova’s heart skip a beat.

But only once.

“Well,” Nova began, “the gate was of no issue. However, there was a roadblock in the fact that-”

“You forgot to unlock the door for the DJ,” Haym interjected. “I had to let him in.”

J’s posture immediately deflated a tad bit, with him sinking back into the couch as he brought a hand to his monitor.

“Damn it, I knew I should’ve set a reminder,” he sighed. “I’m sorry Nova, and thank you, Haym.”

Nova nodded in understanding while Haym gave his father a thumbs up.

“No problem, Pops,” Haym said, turning on his heel before heading out the door. “Anyway, I’m gonna hang out with everyone else. You two have fun nerding out or whatever!”

J let out a laugh, waving to Haym. "Thanks!"

And with that, Nova and J were left alone.

J made no indication of moving off the couch as he turned to Nova once more.

“So, how’s your day been?”

Nova shrugged. “Long, but productive,” he replied, tightening the grip on his briefcase as he stared back at J. “Speaking of, would you like to migrate to the workroom?”

J chuckled, shrugging as he kicked his feet up onto the coffee table. “Honestly, not really. The fire’s nice, and the couch is comfortable,” he said. “Plus, sitting on random buckets in the workroom isn’t good on my old bones.”

Nova tilted his head. “You still have bones?”

“That’s not something you ask a cyborg, Nova,” J replied in a faux-stern tone.

Despite that, shame still hit Nova square in the chest.

“Right,” Nova muttered. “My apologies.”

“It’s fine,” J replied, throwing in a laugh for good measure. After a moment, though, he took his feet off the coffee table and straightened his posture. “Really, though, I’d rather work in here today. Is that alright?”

“Yes, of course.”

J nodded, scooting over on the couch. “Take a seat, then.”

One glance at the couch revealed it to only have _barely_ enough room to seat both Nova and J.

Had he noticed that, Nova never would have agreed to this.

Though, there was no backing out now.

Nova set his briefcase on the coffee table before sitting down next to J, leaving as much room between them as possible. Unfortunately for Nova, the best he could do still had their thighs touching.

His breathing grew irregular.

He turned his attention to his briefcase in an attempt to distract himself.

“So, Nova,” J said, seemingly completely unfazed as Nova desperately attempted to open the briefcase. “You had that meeting with Tatiana earlier, didn’t you?”

“Indeed,” Nova muttered, focusing on the nerves in his fingertips as he smoothed the blueprints down upon the table. “And before I left, I scheduled a day for us to meet with her and present the satellite.”

J stayed silent for a brief moment before tilting his head. “Did you, now?”

“It’ll be three weeks from now on a Wednesday,” Nova replied. “I told her we’d be speaking about an idea that would further NSR as a company.”

“So you still haven’t mentioned the fact that it’s a satellite?” J asked, grabbing his phone and wire from his pocket and connecting them.

Nova nodded, grabbing a pencil before setting his briefcase on the floor. “I want to surprise her.”

“Gotcha.”

Nova sat back up, staring at the blueprint in an attempt to keep his heart rate under control.

“And how about your event thing?” J asked, turning to Nova and leaning just a tad closer. “Anything interesting on that front?”

“Not particularly.” Nova flexed the fingers around his pencil carefully. “It’s still happening next Thursday, and all the plans are still the same. It’ll just be advertised around Cast Tech more, now.”

“Through posters? Billboards? Or did you get Tatiana to give you an entire commercial?”

“I’ll find out when Tatiana calls me back later.” Nova tapped his pencil against his leg, keeping his vision fixed on the blueprints. “Anyway, let’s turn our attention to the satellite. We have a deadline, now.”

J froze, his radar pinging before he nodded and leaned forward, pressing his shoulder against Nova’s as he held his phone over the blueprints. “Where do you wanna start?”

For a moment, Nova couldn’t respond, as his entire left side burned and buzzed and fell numb entirely. His heart could barely keep up with the incoherent thoughts shooting across his mind, and his vision swam as his helmet grew hot. Most notably, though, a heavy disappointment settled deep within Nova’s aching chest.

He’d thought that a week away from J would have done him some good. He’d been managing his emotions well until now. He’d worked so hard.

Though, wasn’t there a saying? “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”?

What a terrible reality.

And yet, he couldn’t let this ruin today’s visit or obscure today’s goal.

Finishing the satellite was far more pressing than some renegade emotions.

So, circling a section of the blueprint and taking a deep, silent breath, Nova kept his gaze away from J as he returned his focus to what was _important_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for your patience on this chapter! I know the wait wasn’t crazy considering my usual schedule, but it felt like it took FOREVER on my end!! I had to take a good 4-5 days off from writing, and this is one of those chapters that just fought me the entire time, so finally getting this chapter out is really nice haha
> 
> Also, sadly, I’ve got no songs that actually fit this chapter. Rip. I was too busy listening to stupid horse by 100 gecs on repeat to find any. lord help my music taste 😔🤘
> 
> (p.s. i originally thought this chapter was gonna be 5k words. im booboo the fool. every time i think a chapter's gonna be shorter it ISNT lmao)


	16. Misdirection

“Hey, Mr. Nova,” Purl-Hew muttered, staring out the window of the limousine and at the sky, where the sun hung low. Meanwhile, Nova looked away from his own window as he forced himself to focus on the world around him.

Today marked the day of Club Planetarium’s fundraiser, and unfortunately, despite both Nova and J’s best efforts, Purl-Hew’s lesson was unable to be moved.

Between Nova’s countless preparations and projects and J’s constant work with the boys, only today’s late afternoon had proved to be a feasible time to meet. Luckily, there was some time between the end of the lesson and the time Nova needed to be at Club Planetarium. So in the end, while the meeting time was undesirable at best, Nova had agreed to it for Purl-Hew’s sake.

Unfortunately, complications only continued to arise from there.

Apparently, an interview for Rin had come up in the Festival Plaza, which J needed to be present for. So, instead of picking up his son after his music lesson ended, J had summoned a limo and asked that Nova join Purl-Hew in the ride to the studio.

Were it anyone else, Nova simply would have refused to go along with this, and quite frankly, he shouldn’t have even been making a special exception in the first place. He could have simply sent Purl-Hew back to J alone, while he took the extra time to prepare for the night.

And yet, Nova couldn’t find it in him to deny J’s request.

He still had plenty of time to get back to Cast Tech to set up for his event, and coming along helped to calm J’s nerves and ensure Purl-Hew’s safety.

Plus, it allowed Nova to see J an extra time this week.

The rational part of him insisted that this was good, for it served a purpose. Now, Nova had a moment to exchange the latest, most polished blueprints with J before their next - and last - meeting before they presented everything. Any extra time to prepare was worthwhile

Just beneath this flimsy explanation, emotion bubbled, simply happy to have an excuse to see J again.

“Mr. Nova?”

Nova focused his gaze on Purl-Hew, who stared back at him with a slight frown.

“Apologies,” Nova replied, adjusting himself in his seat so that he better faced Purl-Hew. “What is it?”

Purl-Hew tilted his head to the side, furrowing his brow at Nova. “You’re zoning out again.”

Nova shook his head. “Incorrect,” he said, “I’m simply thinking. There’s a lot on my plate at the moment.”

With an unreadable hum and a nod, Purl-Hew crossed his arms and reclined in his seat. “Gotcha.”

Nova tilted his head at the boy.

“Aside from that, did you need anything?”

“Nah, not really,” Purl-Hew replied, putting on a smile as he looked up. “You just hadn’t said anything in a while, so I wanted to see if you were still ‘here’, yaknow?”

“I see.”

Nova tapped his foot against the floor as the vehicle drove through a street, approaching a building that Purl-Hew paused to look out at.

The building was relatively unassuming, with a color scheme that allowed it to blend in with the Festival Plaza. Unlike most buildings in and around the Festival Plaza, though, it had a gate guarding the front entrance, which a few younger people loitered beside. A large, light up sign on top of the building revealed it to be the filming studio.

And the limousine drove straight past it.

“...Guess we’re gonna have to use the back door,” Purl-Hew muttered, his face going blank as he turned back around in his seat. “Again.”

Nova leaned forward in his seat. “Again?”

Purl-Hew’s features softened once more as he loosely crossed his arms across his chest, looking away. “Yeah, he muttered. “It’s unsafe to go past those fans hanging out by the door.”

“And they do this often?”

“It comes and goes,” Purl-Hew sighed, turning and staring back out the window. “They were calming down for a bit, but then it got pretty bad after we came back from the Rock Revolution thing. They’ve been extra weird since Dad cut our concerts down again, though.” He paused, pulling his shades off his forehead and placing them over his eyes. “Add that to the week and a half of radio silence that came from the road trip, and they’ve gotten pretty ansty.”

“That’s…” Nova trailed off, studying Purl-Hew closely.

The boy’s posture had curled inward, with his shoulders hunched slightly forward as he glanced at the window irregularly. With his shades over his eyes, his exact expression was difficult to discern, which was likely intended. What was noticeable, though, was the barely hidden frown he wore.

Nova placed his hands in his lap. “It’s worrying, to say the least.”

Purl-Hew shrugged. “They get like this every time there’s a change to our routine, honestly.” He uncrossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, putting on a smile while his shoulders remained tense. “They’ll chill out eventually, though,” he said, his fingers curling up by his sides. “They always do.”

The limousine came to a halt before Nova could formulate a response.

After about ten seconds of silence, the limousine door opened. Purl-Hew wasted no time in hopping out of the vehicle, while Nova grabbed his suitcase stored beneath his seat before following. He stepped out of the vehicle just in time to near Purl-Hew thank the driver, only to take off an instant later.

Purl-Hew made it to the back gate of the building before Nova had even gotten halfway across the parking lot. He spoke into a speaker similar to the one at the gates of Baracca Mansion, waving softly at a camera placed just above it. By the time Nova had caught up with the boy, the gate opened up with a mechanical smoothness.

Purl-Hew glanced over his shoulder, looking to Nova before scanning the parking lot and walking onto the studio property. He waved for Nova to follow as he headed straight for the door. “Alright, they said Dad got here a couple minutes ago,” he said, walking into the building and nodding to a man walking by. “Dad told me they’d be getting Rin ready dressing room 4, which is…” He glanced down each around, his eyebrows raising up over his shades before he pointed to the right and began down the hallway. “This way.”

“I take it you’ve been here before?” Nova asked, placing his free hand in his pocket.

“Yeah. It was for an interview with us about a year and a half ago,” Purl-Hew replied, scanning the doors they occasionally passed by. “They’ve had Rin come back once or twice since then though, so this place is familiar enough.”

“Wait a moment,” Nova muttered, tilting his head. “They’ve called Rin here for interviews, but not the rest of you?”

“It happens.” Purl-Hew shrugged, fidgeting with his shades once more. “He’s the leader, so he’s kinda in high demand.”

Nova tilted his head a few more degrees to the side, slowing his pace. “So you simply have to sit around until Rin’s interviews are over?”

“Just today,” Purl-Hew shrugged, slowing down with Nova and allowing himself a slight frown. “Dad usually lets us choose whether we wanna come along or stay home, but because today’s been kinda weird, I don’t get that option.”

Nova glanced up at the artificial light, which buzzed above as he tapped his finger against the handle of his briefcase.

“Something tells me you aren’t ecstatic about this.”

Purl-Hew sighed, his shoulders slumping forward as he stopped completely in his tracks. 

“Yeah, no.”

Nova nodded in understanding as he stopped beside the boy.

“Well then, in that case,” Nova said, squaring his shoulders as he looked down at Purl-Hew, “would you be interested in coming along to tonight’s event?”

Immediately, Purl-Hew lit up. Though his eyes were still obscured, his wide grin spoke for itself as he stood straight and raised his eyebrows above his shades.

But as just as soon as he’d perked up, his excitement fell away to a far more sheepish stance.

“I uh… Kinda already tried talking to Dad about that, actually.” He paused, pulling his shades off his nose and staring downward as he fidgeted with them. “He said no.”

“Perhaps I could attempt to persuade him-”

Purl-Hew cut Nova off with a snort.

“The answer’s still gonna be no. He was pretty clear about his decision on this one,” he chuckled, glancing up at Nova with a slight smile. It soon fell away once again, though now, his expression remained far more light than before as he started back down the hallway. “If anyone could convince him, though, it’d be you.”

“In that case, it’s worth an attempt, at the very least,” Nova muttered, walking beside the boy.

Purl-Hew let out another, quieter chuckle. “It really isn’t, but you can try.”

Nova simply huffed in response as Purl-Hew turned to one of the doors in the hall, opening it and stepping into the room.

The room was small and decorated in a plain manner. A table, mirror, and chair stood at the far wall, which Rin sat at while he fussed over his hair. To the side stood a small sofa with a table beside it, along with two fold out chairs. On one of the chairs sat J, who tapped at his phone as he pushed the wire out of his way. Meanwhile, on the sofa sat Eloni, who fiddled with some sort of mechanical project as he looked down at some blueprints.

Rin was the first to take notice of Nova and Purl-Hew, glancing at them in the mirror before turning around and waving. “Hey, Purl-Hew,” he said before glancing at Nova and giving him a nod. “And Supernova.”

Nova nodded in turn. “Rin.”

Just as J’s monitor turned upward, Purl-Hew waved to his brother. “Hey, Rin,” he said, sitting beside Eloni and glancing at the object he worked on. “I thought you said you were staying home.”

“I wanted a change of scenery,” Eloni replied, glancing up from his project to wave to Nova before looking down again.

“But Zi and Haym stayed home?”

Eloni shrugged, frowning slightly. “They said they had better things to do.”

As Purl-Hew and Eloni continued their conversation, J stood up with a ping, his radar turning directly to Nova as he approached.

Nova couldn’t even be surprised anymore by the emotion that threatened to crush his lungs and overwhelm his vision with static. Nowadays, it was simply one of the many feelings that punctuated J’s presence in his life.

“Nova,” J began, folding his arms behind his back, “thank you for bringing Purl-Hew all the way here.” He let one arm relax by his side as he scratched at the back of his neck. “Sorry the request was so last minute, especially considering everything you’ve got going on tonight.”

“No need to apologize,” Nova replied, somehow managing to work his lungs into keeping a steady rhythm. “I have some extra time before I need to be at Club Planetarium, so this trip was of no consequence.”

J nodded, letting his other arm drop to his side. “Oh, well, that’s good to hear!” he said, only to lower his voice and tilt his monitor. “I’m guessing you’ve still gotta get going soon, though?”

“Soon, yes,” Nova replied. “However, there’s a couple things I’d like to discuss with you before I go.”

“What are they?”

“Well, the first one’s more of a request.”

J simply tilted his head further to the side.

“I know I just brought him all the way here, but Purl-Hew and I were chatting,” Nova muttered, averting his gaze from J’s unmoving monitor. “It made me realize that the event tonight would be the perfect entertainment for him. Thus, I was wondering if you’d allow Purl-Hew - as well as Eloni if he so wished - to join me on the way back to Club Planetarium.”

After a short pause, J let out a somewhat exhausted laugh, catching the attention of Purl-Hew and Eloni.

“Oh, he set you up to this, didn’t he?” J chuckled, placing his hands on his hips as he leaned into Nova’s space.

Nova forced himself to stand his ground, though his heart raced. 

“No, I bring this up of my own accord.” Nova straightened his spine as he stared J dead on. “I thought it’d be good for the boys to have something to do, rather than sit here for who knows how long.”

For a moment, J remained frozen in his pose. After that moment, though, he let out a sigh.

“Nova,” he said, “although you’re correct, I can’t just let the boys out in the public eye. Especially not now.”

While the Purl-Hew and Eloni glanced at each other with unsurprised disappointment, J tapped his fingers against his hip with a metallic ting.

“Trust me,” he continued, “I’d like to let the boys do something else. The only issue is that the fans have been extra… _Enthusiastic_ lately. Purl-Hew and Eloni would be spotted in an instant, and all hell would break loose.” J made a vague gesture to Nova. “Plus, there’s no way you’d be able to keep an eye on the boys while you’re busy hosting the event. It’d be a nightmare for everyone involved.”

Well, Purl-Hew had warned him.

Nova covered up his disappointment with a nod. “I understand.”

“Hey, it’s the thought that counts.”

Out of the corner of his vision, Nova caught Rin, watching the conversation from his mirror with an inquisitive look. The moment Nova focused his vision on him, though, he returned to staring at himself.

“Anyway,” J said, straightening his back and returning Nova’s attention to him. “What was the second thing you wanted to talk about?”

“Oh.” Nova walked over to the table beside the sofa, setting it down and opening it as he grabbed out a couple blueprints. “I just wanted to give you the final drafts of the satellite to look over,” he said, walking back to J and holding out the papers. “This way, we have ample time to perfect them on Monday.”

With a ping of his radar, J grabbed the blueprints with a nod. “I’ll check them out by then.”

The buzz of the light above filled the brief moment of near-suffocating silence.

“Well, I’d best be going, now,” Nova eventually said, already making his way toward the door. “I’ll see you Monday, J-”

He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey,” J said, immediately bringing his hand back, “take the limo back to Cast Tech. I asked the driver to stick around for you, so he should still be nearby wherever he dropped you off.”

“...I see,” Nova muttered, taking a step away from J and taking a breath. “I’ll do that.”

J nodded stepping back from Nova and standing straight before waving. “I’ll talk to you later, then. I hope your event goes well!” He chuckled.

“Thank you,” Nova said, stepping out the door. Just before he exited the room, however, he glanced back at Rin.

“Best of luck to you with your interview, Rin.”

Rin stared at Nova in the window, his eyebrows raising high before he turned around.

“You’re supposed to say break a leg in the performance world, you know,” he said. He paused, the corners up his mouth tilting slightly upward in a slightly strained, yet genuine manner just before he turned around. “Thanks, though.”

With a wave, Nova left the room and made his way toward the exit with haste. He didn’t have long before he needed to be back in Cast Tech, and once he returned, he had much to do. Between checking and making sure everything had been set up, checking his notes, and briefing the staff for the evening, he’d be cutting things close by the time the doors opened to the public.

Despite all this, a far more pressing matter found its way to the forefront of Nova’s psyche.

Had Rin just _smiled_ at him?

That was…

Well, Nova couldn’t quite pinpoint the emotion.

It felt nice, though.

* * *

Nova had only gotten the duration of the limo ride to mull over his latest interaction with J and the boys. Once he’d arrived at Club Planetarium, however, all that was pushed to the wayside.

The moment he’d stepped into the venue, it had been nothing but nonstop movement. He was caught in a flurry of setting up small educational booths, talking with the Club Planetarium staff, and making sure everything was in order overall. He darted between tables showcasing experiments for people to partake in to better understand the universe, and he hurried past staff members setting up the occasional decoration for the event.

Only after the sun fell below the horizon and the staff announced they would be opening the doors did Nova stop to breathe.

So, Nova and the staff took their places around Club Planetarium and watched as the doors finally opened to the public.

Over the next few minutes, patrons filed in through the front door with some semblance of order. Some of the youngest visitors barely looked to be out of preschool, while a few elders made their way into the crowd. The main body of the group seemed to range from teens to young adults, though. Each person sported their own unique style, and displayed their own personality to the world.

From what Nova could tell thus far, a relatively large audience had come to the event.

That was a good sign.

...Or at least, he thought so, until he spotted two faces in the crowd.

One orange, one green.

What on earth were they doing here? What exactly did they want?

...And why were they walking towards Nova?

A slightly closer inspection of the two revealed them to be chatting between themselves as they approached. They both had their eyes set on the DJ, though, with Zuke smiling at him while Mayday waved.

Nova waved in return.

Then, the moment he let his arm drop, he turned on his heel and hurried to the telescope, where many of the visitors had congregated.

Tonight, he had far too much to focus on for his schedule to run late due to an inescapable conversation. Though the two were by no means _complete_ menaces, idly chatting with them now could potentially throw off the entire evening.

Speaking of which, he’d best get the night started, before those two caught up with him.

So he stepped onto a small platform built specifically for the night, which stood just by the telescope, and looked out upon the crowd. Instead of being greeted with applause or cheering like he was at his concerts, though, he was met with quiet muttering and unblinking eyes.

He adjusted his lapel mic and cleared his throat.

“Thank you all for attending Club Planetarium’s fundraiser tonight,” Nova began, slipping into the same voice he often used for lectures at the university years ago. “As you know, all funds from tonight will go directly to Club Planetarium’s educational aspects, allowing it to stay open outside of concerts and providing a venue to the community most nights of the week.”

A few nods came from the crowd, but aside from that, nothing.

“...Now, you all paid for more than simply keeping a building running, you’ve also paid for an event. So, allow me to formally begin the night. 

Some people perked up.

“Around the venue, a plethora of experiments and displays have been built. You’re all welcome to visit these things throughout the night, at any time you so choose,” Nova said, motioning specifically to a display detailing the technology of a rover. “Also, over the course of the night, I will be discussing our universe and assisting in the use of Club Planetarium’s telescope. Please, pick and choose how you’d like to spend your time and expand your knowledge of space while you’re here.”

And with that, Nova’s mic shut off as he stepped off the platform.

It took no time at all for the crowd to disperse and head over to whatever areas of the building interested them. Many children went directly toward the more hands-on experiments, while some of the older folks attended the more informational displays. A large portion of the group remained by the telescope, however, still watching Nova carefully.

One of the employees of the venue started a song in the background, which played at a just barely audible volume to keep any silence away.

“So,” Nova said, addressing the group that stayed nearby the telescope. “I see you’re all interested in seeing pieces of our universe with your own eyes, yes?”

Some nodded, but for the most part, the group remained silent. Well, aside from a loud “yeah” in the crowd, almost certainly coming from Mayday.

“I hope you’re all well aware that tonight isn’t a lecture, but rather, a discussion,” Nova said, already pressing a button on the telescope as he stared at his crowd. “I implore you all to be curious and ask questions about things that interest you. I’m happy to answer what I can.”

_That_ was what finally thawed the crowd’s demeanor, springing them all to life as they began to chatter among themselves. Some, though, pushed themselves to the front of the crowd as they attempted to address Nova.

Mayday was one of the first to shove her way to the front, grinning at Nova as she shouted, “Let’s hear about-!”

“I’ve got a question.”

Nova, instead of acknowledging Mayday, tilted his head and turned to a young girl who had stepped forward. She seemed no older than thirteen, and she stared up at Nova with wide eyes.

Ah, good. It was always nice to see the youth take interest in these sorts of topics.

“What is it?” Nova asked, softening his tone just a tad bit.

The girl blinked at him, smiling slightly as her eyes flicked to the telescope. “How big’s space, like, in its entirety?” She asked. “We know it’s big, but _how_ big?”

Nova paused for a moment.

Her curiosity was far too reminiscent of that of the boys during their first visit to the observatory. Her wide eyes, the somewhat vague question, and the general desire for knowledge.

It really was a shame none of them could attend the evening.

...He needed to focus.

Finally, Nova clasped his hands together. “An absolutely stellar question,” he replied, tapping another button on the telescope to angle it further upward before returning his focus to the girl. “The observable universe alone is unfathomably large to the puny human mind, and the sliver we can see is only a mere four percent of the _entire_ , constantly expanding universe.”

The girl stared blankly in reply.

So, Nova folded his arms behind his back as he continued. “To put that into perspective, if you took a single grain of sand from the beach, then cut _that_ into ten pieces and compared it to the size of the Earth, you’d have our star in comparison to our galaxy. Then, from there, we are so minute and insignificant that our _galaxy_ doesn’t even show up as a speck in the grand scheme of the known universe. We are practically nothing, even within our own galaxy.” Nova glanced back down at the girl. “Now, does that make any-”

The girl stared back at the DJ with what seemed to be a combination of awe and pure terror. Nearby her, multiple other teens shifted uncomfortably. Even Mayday, who now had Zuke standing just beside her, looked to be in a state of relative unease.

“...Actually, I’m sure you get the picture,” Nova muttered, turning his attention to the telescope. “Anyway, let’s bring the conversation a little closer to home.” He stopped the telescope’s movement, surveying it for only a moment before motioning the girl over. “Would you like to come take a look at the subject of our first real discussion of the night?”

“Uh… Sure,” she said, shuffling her feet as she blinked away the remaining dread on her face. Finally, she made her way toward the telescope and leaned into the eyepiece.

Nova, meanwhile, tapped a button on the control panel of the telescope, and across Club Planetarium’s dome ceiling, a prepared image of Jupiter displayed.

The patrons fell silent, with everyone around the venue pausing to stare up at the image

“Woah,” the girl said, grinning as she looked away from the telescope, “that’s super coo…”

She trailed off, following everyone’s gaze to the ceiling.

“Indeed,” Nova replied, bringing the attention of the guests back down to him. “As you can see, that’s Jupiter. At over thirteen hundred times the volume of Earth, it easily takes the title of the largest planet in our solar system.”

He paused for only a moment, allowing the crowd to digest this information. Before he had a chance to continue, however, Mayday stared directly at him with a wide smile.

“Hey, DJ,” she called out, “tell us about the giant spot!”

That wasn’t a terrible idea, actually.

“Why, of course,” Nova said, turning to the crowd. “The great red spot of Jupiter is actually a large storm, with winds reaching speeds of 430 kilometers per hour. Satellite images tell us that…”

As he continued, the crowd listened with a surprising, and somewhat refreshing level of interest. People continued to ask questions, listening attentively through the answers. Some lined up to get a chance to look through the telescope, and others even came from the other areas of the observatory to listen.

Tonight was actually off to a good start.

And that fueled Nova to continue forward.

* * *

“So, even though astronauts probably won’t come back into style for some time, you should look into the field of robotics if you’re still interested in exploring space.”

The young girl from the earlier part of the night nodded vigorously at the DJ, wearing a large smile as she took in every word Nova said. Just as she opened her mouth to respond, though, an older man - presumably her guardian - called out to her.

“Valorie, honey, it’s time to go!”

The girl snapped into action without a pause, giving the man a thumbs up as she moved in that direction. She kept her head turned to Nova, however, as she waved goodbye and said, “I’ll make sure to look at some rovers later!”

Nova found himself chuckling to himself as the two left the venue.

Now, he was left to survey the observatory.

The night had been an overall success, with the crowd seemingly being entertained and intrigued by everything. Now, though, things had begun to wind down. The lights had switched on some time ago, and the overwhelming majority of the patrons had left, with only a few groups straggling behind as the staff tidied the space.

Though the staff seemed to be handling everything fine, it was rather uncomfortable to stand around idly as everyone else worked. So, instead of continuing to watch, Nova made his way toward the platform by the telescope, where a few employees worked to disassemble the thing.

Before he’d even made it a quarter of the way there, though, his phone rang.

He could hardly say he was surprised to see it was J.

And, despite the usual amount of dread creeping into the corners of Nova’s psyche, he couldn’t quite say he was upset to hear from him, either.

He moved toward the wall of the observatory, holding his phone close as he spoke into the speaker.

“Hello, J.”

J replied instantly, his voice oddly enthusiastic compared to just a few hours ago. “Hey, Nova! Are you home yet?”

“No, I’m still at Club Planetarium. Why do you ask?”

“You left your briefcase at the studio.”

“...Ah.”

“Yeah,” J snickered. “Thought you might want it back before Monday.”

“That’d be preferable, yes.” Nova tapped his foot as he leaned his back against the wall. “I’m assuming you’re near Cast Tech?”

“We’re driving through it as we speak, according to the boys.”

“I see.” Nova paused, watching as one of the last few groups left the building.

Knowing that, it wouldn’t be too difficult to simply ask J to stop by Nova’s building and leave the briefcase with the front desk. In fact, it was probably the easiest option for both J and Nova.

But as Nova spoke, his emotions managed to override his rationality.

“Come stop by Club Planetarium then, and feel free to bring the boys inside,” he said. “The fundraiser has just wrapped up, and I’ll make sure all the visitors have left the building by the time you arrive.”

Damn it.

“Understood!” J replied, pausing for just a moment as some chatter came from his end. “Purl-Hew says we’re closeby, so I’ll talk to you in a minute!”

“See you then.”

Nova ended the call before sighing, bringing a hand to his head as he pocketed his phone.

This was a terrible decision.

...Well, at least he was learning to breathe around J once again-

“Hey, DJ!”

Nova yelped, nearly jumping out of his skin at Mayday shouting in his nonexistent ear.

“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle ya,” Mayday said, chuckling nervously as Nova turned to her and Zuke, who both stood just beside him.

Nova simply huffed in response, glancing around Club Planetarium once more. Now, all of the visitors had left, with only Mayday and Zuke remaining outside of Nova and the venue’s staff.

“And what are you two doing, still loitering around?” Nova finally asked, staring down the two.

Zuke raised both his hands as he spoke up, wearing an easy smile as he addressed the DJ. “Hey man, no need to get suspicious,” he said. “We just wanted to let you know that you set up a pretty good event.”

“Everyone seemed to be having a really good time,” Mayday added, returning to her resting smile.

Nova couldn’t help but puff out his chest a tad bit out of pride alone, though he responded in an aloof tone, “Well, of course it would be success, _I_ planned it. Plus, this fundraiser has been in planning for months.”

“Hey,” Zuke said, “Tatiana actually mentioned that when we saw her-”

“Oh. Did she send you?”

Zuke shrugged. “Kinda?”

“Sorta,” Mayday chuckled. “She just mentioned that you had an event happening that wasn’t going to cost an arm and a leg. So, since we weren’t busy and live nearby, we decided to check it out.”

“And good thing we did, too,” Zuke said. “It was nice. Plus, we learned a couple new things tonight.”

Nova found himself standing straighter at that. He had heard the same from many of tonight’s guests, actually. That they’d all learned something.

What an accomplishment.

“I see,” Nova eventually muttered, watching an employee of the observatory pass by before returning his gaze to Mayday and Zuke. “Well then, speaking of new - well, somewhat new - things, how’s life gone for you both under NSR’s recent changes?”

“Things haven’t been too crazy for us, actually,” Mayday replied, offering Nova a relaxed shrug.

“We got some new fans after the revolution, but since we decided to stay indie, our life hasn’t really changed too much,” Zuke specified, partially leaning on his drumsticks, which had been stacked into a cane. “We played at the Grand Qwaza once or twice, though, and so did some of our friends. That was pretty nice.”

“Plus, the roads in the outskirts are _finally_ getting repaved!” Mayday said, standing as tall as she could as she grinned. “Now we won’t be at risk of eating dirt every time we go to-”

Suddenly, Mayday froze, staring directly at the back entrance.

Following her gaze, Nova found the reason why she fell silent.

J, along with Rin, Purl-Hew, and Eloni, all filed in through the backdoor, which was held open by a staff member. J stood at the front, leading the boys as he held Nova’s suitcase close. Meanwhile, the boys chatted among themselves, laughing over something.

“Oh my god!” Mayday shouted, her grin _somehow_ growing even wider as she grabbed Zuke by the hand and dragged him forward. With her free hand, she waved at J and the boys and called out, “Hi!”

Immediately, J jumped to attention, clutching Nova’s briefcase to his chest. The boys, however, simply glanced up from their conversation before reacting.

Though Purl-Hew was the first to respond by tilting his head at Mayday and Zuke, Eloni was the first to say anything. He took a moment to process the situation, soon mirroring Mayday’s grin as he stepped forward and replied, “Oh, hey!”

It only took a few more seconds before Mayday and Zuke had closed the distance between themselves and the boys. Mayday and Zuke (mostly Mayday, though), began chattering at the group before Nova had even made a step in that direction.

By the time Nova had even begun to process everything and approach, Mayday and Eloni were already dominating the conversation with loud voices and animated gestures. Purl-Hew and J seemed to occasionally find their ways into the dialogue, while Zuke only spoke here and there.

Rin, however, was silent.

The boy stood completely still, with his hands clenched into fists by his sides. His gaze was unsteady and held just a tinge of panic, glancing around as though he was looking for something. Despite this, though, he was holding himself together quite well. In fact, he would have seemed to be at relative ease to the untrained eye.

And Zuke most certainly didn’t know Rin well enough to take notice of the state he was in.

Zuke had seemingly taken notice of Rin’s silence, though, as he’d turned to the android and said something with an easy smile.

Rin only looked at Zuke for a moment, staring at him with unblinking eyes before tensing up, turning away, and beelining for the DJ.

By now, Nova only stood a relatively short distance from the group, and Rin managed to close that distance within seconds.

“Pretend you have something important to tell me, quick,” the boy hissed, his eyes wide as he almost glanced over his shoulder, only to stop himself at the last minute.

“Rin,” Nova said, taking a step toward the boy, “are you well-?”

“ _I’m fine_.”

He was shaking.

Nova found himself glancing just over Rin’s shoulder, where Zuke stood absolutely baffled, before looking back to the android.

“Rin, I don’t quite understand what’s happening, but I can ask Bunk Bed Junction to leave if you need me to do so,” he muttered, studying the boy carefully.

That, however, did nothing to help. Instead, Rin’s eyes simply grew wider as his white irises shrank.

“Oh my god- no! Don’t do that. No,” he stammered, lowering his voice as he shoved a hand in his hair. “Just… Give me a minute.”

So, Nova and Rin stood in silence for a minute.

Then two.

And three.

Finally, Nova spoke.

“Are you _sure_ you don’t want me to-”

“I’m sure.” Rin’s irises shrank for a moment before going back to their normal size. “They aren’t doing anything wrong. Plus, Eloni says they’re nice, and I trust him.”

“And that’s why you're talking with _me_ of all people?”

Rin’s expression shifted to something Nova was far more familiar with. A mild annoyance, with an undercurrent of unease.

“I said I trust my brother, not them,” he hissed. “The last time I actually interacted with _them_ , I was down for weeks.”

A sour taste overwhelmed Nova’s senses as a pit grew in his stomach.

“Ah, right,” he muttered.

Rin crossed his arms over his chest and averted eye contact in response.

“Apologies.”

After a moment, Rin sighed.

“It’s fine,” he eventually muttered. “I’m not upset, I just didn’t expect them to be here and it’s kinda thrown things off. I just need to get over myself, then I’ll talk to them.”

Nova found himself tilting his head at the boy.

“...You actually want to speak to them?”

Rin shrugged, looking away. “Kinda.”

“Even after they just sent you into a panic?”

Rin scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Navy bots don't panic,” he said. “We’re built for the battlefield.”

“Well then, you’re either not a Navy bot, or you’re completely wrong in your first statement.”

Rin frowned.

“You know, I decided to talk to you so that I could cool off for a bit before going back,” he grumbled, looking to the ground.

Nova sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets. “You _really_ still wish to speak with them?”

“Yeah.”

“Would changing the topic help you calm yourself?”

Rin nodded, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Alright, just give me a moment to think about-”

“Can I ask a question, actually?” Rin asked, staring directly at Nova with that piercing gaze he’d come to expect. “I’ll get out of your ha- well, I’ll leave you alone after it..”

“What’s your question?”

At that, Rin narrowed his eyes and glanced at J. “I’m curious,” he muttered, looking back to Nova. “Did you leave your briefcase at the studio on purpose?”

For just a moment, Nova stood dumbfounded.

“What?”

“I mean, did you and Purl-Hew plan it?” Rin further questioned, his features growing softer and shifting into something close to curiosity. “He’s been asking the Captain to let him come here for the past week, and I know you two talked about bringing him here.”

Nova found himself holding back a chuckle. “That’s quite the theory you have, there,” he said. “Too bad it’s incorrect, though.”

Rin studied the DJ closely, squinting his eyes at him before softening his expression into something _almost_ friendly and open, but not quite.

“You know, I won’t tell anyone if you did it for my brother,” he muttered. “I’d rather know he’s getting out of the house safely, but with some deception, than…”

He trailed off and staring blankly at the wall behind Nova.

“Rather than trying something?” Nova suggested.

Rin snapped back into reality, his eyes focusing as he nodded at the DJ.

“Yeah. That.”

Nova nodded, humming to himself.

“Well, while I’m glad to know that you’re concerned for Purl-Hew’s safety”-he stared straight down at Rin-”I still didn’t plant the briefcase.”

Rin narrowed his eyes immediately, unconvinced.

With a sigh, Nova brought his hand to his head. “Listen, Rin,” he said, “I respect J’s decisions. Especially when it’s not allowing Purl-Hew to come to a public event when you boys are currently being swarmed at every opportunity. I wouldn’t attempt to undermine him with a plan as stupid as leaving important documents lying around.”

He paused briefly.

“I wouldn’t attempt to undermine him, period.”

Immediately, Rin’s demeanor changed. His eyebrows shot upward as he blinked, and his hands fell limp by his sides.

“Hm.”

Nova leaned forward just a centimeter. “Hm?”

“I think I’ve heard enough,” Rin muttered, staring at the DJ. “I believe you.”

Before Nova could respond, though, the boy put on that strange trademark smile he used for public appearances.

“Anyways, I think I suddenly have the mental fortitude to talk to Bunk Bed Junction. Thanks for the chat,” he said, fixing his posture as ruffling his own hair.

“You break a leg,” Nova said, walking toward the group.

Rin paused, his practiced smile falling for a moment as he furrowed his brows.

Only a second later, though, his face regained a touch of that same light as he allowed himself a minuscule smile.

The second one today.

“Uh. Thanks,” he finally replied, turning and walking just beside the DJ.

“...By the way, the Captain mentioned that he wanted to talk to you while we were on our way here,” Rin muttered as they walked, lowering his voice.

Nova nearly tripped over his own feet.

“What about?”

Rin shrugged, staring straight ahead. “He didn’t tell me.”

Before Nova could question the boy further, he sped forward and walked straight to the group conversation, where he quickly found a spot beside Zuke. Meanwhile, as Nova stood only a few paces from the group, a ping came from it.

J turned over his shoulder a moment after the sound.

“Nova?”

Nova forced himself to take a deep, but silent, breath.

“That’s me.”

“ _Finally_ ~!” J sang out, snickering as he broke away from the group and approached Nova. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d ever make an appearance tonight.”

“I was on my way, I promise.” Nova said, managing to chuckle in return despite his heavy gut and shaking hands. “I simply got caught up chatting with Rin.”

J paused, tilting his monitor to the side for only a second before he returned to normal. “Ah, I understand,” he said, still keeping a chipper tone. After a moment, he held out Nova’s briefcase and continued, “Anyway, you might want this.”

“You’re more than correct,” Nova replied, taking his briefcase from J.

His hand only briefly brushed against J’s.

His heart skipped many beats after.

“So!” J said, placing his hands on his hips. “Tell me, how’d your event end up going?”

“Fairly well. Many people attended, and they all seemed entertained enough,” Nova replied, bringing himself back to relative normalcy. He then glanced around the observatory, noting the multiple exhausted staff members beginning to steal glances at both current conversations.

“Though, by now, the fundraiser is unequivocally over,” Nova continued, returning his gaze to J. “We should probably take our leave before the venue’s staff is forced to ask us to do so.”

“Understood!” J said, saluting to Nova. He then turned on his heel, to the conversation going on behind them and called out, “Troops! Take action to vacate the premises!”

The boys jumped to attention for a moment, listening to what J had to say before breaking their stances and heading toward the backdoor. As they walked, though, they continued chatting with Bunk Bed Junction, who followed them across the observatory.

J’s radar pinged twice before he turned and folded his arms behind his back.

“Let’s be off!”

Nova kept pace with J, tilting his head as he muttered, “You’re in an awfully good mood, now.”

J perked up in an instant, turning his monitor to Nova as he nearly vibrated with energy.

“Nova,” he said, keeping his voice in a whisper-shout, “the factory finally got approved for repairs!”

J’s energy was almost infectious, as Nova found himself standing tall.

“Really?” he asked, almost breathless. “When did you find out?”

“Tatiana called about an hour and a half ago.” J said, laughing.

“I… Wow,” Nova muttered. “This must mean a lot for your family.”

“It really does,” J replied, softening his tone. “Once the factory’s back up, things can finally go back to normal for 1010. Concerts will be less stressful, fan meetings will finally be able open back up, there’ll be less room for the fanatics to fuck things up…” He paused to chuckle to himself. “And, I won’t have to manually repair the boys’ limbs every time they decide to try some new stunt.”

Nova tilted his head, glancing at the boys and Bunk Bed Junction as they exited the building through the backdoor. “Speaking of the boys, do they know yet? Or are you going to keep it a surprise?”

“I’m going to tell them all tomorrow,” J replied. “I mean, I’d keep it a surprise, but I think they’d quickly get suspicious of me suddenly being that busy.”

Something constricted around Nova’s lungs.

“Wait,” he managed to mutter out, “what exactly does this project entail for you?”

J shrugged, adjusting his jacket as he stepped outside, where a limousine sat running on the nearby street. “I’ll be taking a similar role to what I’d assume you’ll take with the satellite. I won’t be on the floor, directly working on the project, but I’ll be overseeing things and stopping by the shop regularly to talk though how things are going.”

“...I see,” Nova muttered, the clang of the door closing sounding from behind.

It had just dawned on Nova.

This may be the last week he saw J regularly.

Between his own work and the satellite, Nova was already going to be nearly booked once the blueprints were accepted. Now, with J having his own project to juggle with work, Nova would be lucky to see him outside of meetings and Purl-Hew’s lessons.

He really shouldn’t have felt this much dread; this was a good thing for both of them.

First of all, J and the boys needed that factory back online months ago, so there was no grief to be had there. In Nova’s case, however, by the time the factory and the satellite were complete, his emotions could potentially be starved out. Even if not, he would be able to focus on the important aspects of his life in peace, undisrupted by something constantly sparking his infatuation back to life.

But… He’d miss J in the meantime.

They were still friends, after all.

“Well,” Nova said, stopping beside a wall, “it sounds as though you definitely have your work cut out for you.”

J took a moment to respond, stopping behind Nova as the display on his radar spun just a tad slower.

“...Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

All of that energy from moments ago had vanished.

“-Yeah, so, we should probably get going,” Zuke said, speaking loud enough to catch Nova’s attention. He stood a small distance away, where he, Mayday, and the boys had all migrated. “It was nice getting to talk to you all again, though,” he said, addressing Purl-Hew and Eloni before putting on a smile as he turned to Rin. “Well, and getting introduced properly, in your case.”

Rin actually sported a small smile, nodding as he saluted Zuke. “Likewise.”

Mayday frowned, looking away from Eloni, who she seemed to have been chatting with moments ago. “Really? Already?”

“Ellie’s been home alone for hours, May,” Zuke said. “She’s probably missing us.”

“She’s not alone, Zam’s hanging out with her.”

“Well then, maybe _I_ miss _her_.”

Mayday let out an exaggerated sigh, stepping away from the boys as she did so. “Fiiine,” she said, smiling at Zuke despite her tone. “Let’s head back.”

With that, Zuke and May said their individual goodbyes before heading off, away from Club Planetarium.

“Bye!” Mayday called out, waving to the boys. “It was great talking to you guys! Tell your brothers I said hi!”

Zuke simply glanced over his shoulder. “Later!”

The boys shouted their goodbyes, waving to the two as they grew further away, eventually turning and walking out of sight.

Then, the boys turned to Nova and J.

“Hey, Dad,” Eloni said, raising his voice just enough to be heard from the distance. “I’m guessing we’re heading home, too?”

“In a minute. Let me say goodbye, first” J replied, making a vague gesture in the general direction of the limousine. “Go head over to the limo, I won’t be long.”

Eloni and Purl-Hew nodded and Rin saluted before all quickly making their way toward the vehicle.

And now, Nova was left alone with J, with only the above head streetlights and J’s spinning display providing light to the scene.

“Well, I’ll see you Monday,” Nova said.

J turned his head back to Nova, nodding. “Affirmative.”

Neither made any move.

“...Hey, Nova, before I go,” J eventually continued, “I’ve been thinking.”

Nova held his briefcase close.

“What about?”

J stood silent for another few seconds, shifting his weight before taking a breath.

“Well, once we present your satellite to Tatiana, we’re both going to be up to our necks in work,” he said, his radar pinging as he let out a strained laugh. “I mean, more than usual. Despite this, though, I think we should find a way to continue to meet up whether we’re busy or not.”

Logic urged Nova to reject this idea, for his own and his career’s safety. His heart, though, jumped at the chance.

His heart won out in moments, though rationale didn’t back down.

“Perhaps you could act as an advisor to the satellite, then,” Nova mused. “You could occasionally stop by and offer feedback on the project, plus-”

J held up a hand, cutting Nova off.

“Nova, not that I’d be opposed to helping you some more with the satellite, but I meant something a little less… Work oriented.”

“Such as?”

Nevermind. Rationale had been thrown out the window.

“Well, I was thinking we could just meet up every other week,” J said, the energy returning to his voice as he now gestured with his hands. “We don’t need to do anything in particular, and we could keep our usual meeting days. The only difference is that instead of working for hours on end, we would actually be taking a break.”

That plan would do nothing but exacerbate Nova’s problem.

“I quite like that idea, actually.”

_Of course._

J perked up immediately, clasping his hands together with a genuine laugh. “Great!” he said. “In that case, then, how does-”

“Dad!” Purl-Hew called out, sticking his head out of the window of the limousine. “Haym’s texting me, and he's wondering where we’re at!”

“...Okay, so we’ll have to figure out a few details, but we can talk about them later,” J said, chuckling to himself as he put his hand on Nova’s shoulder. “I’d best be off, now. I’ll call you when I get the chance.”

With that, J patted Nova’s shoulder and turned around, walking to the limousine.

Nova stood almost entirely still, only snapping out of it to wave to the limousine as it drove away. The moment the vehicle had driven out of sight, though, Nova sighed.

He really just couldn’t stop himself, could he?

The thing is, he already knew the answer. The worst part, though, was the fact that he wasn't even terribly upset by it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how're those Facts and Logic helping u out DJ


	17. Wrong Place, Wrong Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it’s been a hot second since I last posted! I took about a week off from writing to solidify the rest of this story and decompress, plus life got a little busy, so this chapter took a while. It’s nice to be back, though! Also, I know I say this every time, but I REALLY wanna get back to normal-ish. I don't like going 2 weeks between chapters lol
> 
> Also, HOT DIGGITY an actual chapter count??? Hell yeah, babey! It’s here!!! It MAY fluctuate by like one chapter by the end of this, but here’s the count as of now!!! :D

Finally, after months of work, the day had come.

Five minutes from now, DJ Subatomic Supernova would present the product of months of deliberation and discussion to Tatiana; a satellite built to withstand eternity. All it would take was some explaining from J and Nova, and by the end of the day, things would finally be set into motion to fully realize the vision that would soon become the DJ’s legacy.

...As soon as he found the strength to walk into the lobby, that was.

Just before Nova stood the NSR Tower, standing tall as it glittered in the afternoon sun.

At the top of the skyscraper sat the promise of an immortal remembrance in the public mind.

And yet, Nova found himself paralyized in the shadow of the tower.

Indeed, the most challenging part of Nova’s day thus far would be the few steps from the end of the bridge to the NSR Tower. This was despite hours of double, triple, and quadruple checking the satellite’s blueprints for any oversights. Pages of notes, written and rewritten to find how to best present everything to Tatiana. Multiple cups of coffee, and an entire night spent awake fine tuning everything.

All that, and a few steps forward was what left Nova frozen, his fingers shaking as he stared at the building just ahead.

Ridiculous as it was, he couldn’t even say he was caught off guard by the feeling.

Throughout the day, tiny fragments of Nova’s predictions of the near future had swirled together into something indecipherable. All the choices Nova could have made, both good and bad, had found their way across his mind in the past few hours. Meanwhile, hairline doubts collided with a shapeless sense of excitement, leaving him struggling to breathe as spots and stars danced across his blurry vision.

He was a mess.

Unfortunately for Nova, though, he had no time to waste composing himself. He had a meeting with Tatiana mere minutes from now, and she didn't accept late visits.

If he stood out here all day, the satellite would never be accepted.

So, unlocking his limbs and taking a deep breath, Nova held his briefcase close with a hand that only shook slightly and stepped forward with legs that only barely managed to carry him past the front door.

Thankfully, the moment Nova stepped into the lobby, he was greeted by the ping of a radar.

Just past the miniature waterfalls and leaning against the wall, J stood with his monitor tilted in the general direction of the front entrance. He’d seemingly been standing there for a decent amount of time, with his phone in his hand and connected to his monitor.

For once, the usual anxiety of seeing J didn’t set in.

Instead, among the current doubts and unease regarding the satellite, J’s presence was almost calming by comparison.

So, as Nova stepped further into the lobby, he waved to J.

“Good afternoon, J.”

Immediately, J stood at attention, pulling the wire from his monitor and pocketing it, along with his phone, in an instant.

“Nice to see you too, Nova!” J said, chipper as ever as he hurried over to the DJ and fell in line with him.

Nova nodded, hitting the button to summon the elevator. “As always, likewise.”

J simply hummed a happy tone in response, facing the elevator and brushing his hand along the wall. Eventually, he found the button for the elevator, tapping it a second, third, and fourth time.

Nova found himself tilting his head as J continued to press the button, placing his free hand in his pocket as he muttered, “J, I don’t think continually calling the elevator is actually going to do-”

Surprisingly enough, as J hit the button for the dozenth time and straightened his back, a soft ding sounded just before the elevator doors opened.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” he asked, placing his hands on his hips and turning to Nova.

Nova stood frozen for just a moment, staring at the elevator in disbelief.

Finally, he scoffed, walking forward and stepping past the doors as he muttered, “You got lucky.”

“If that’s what you’ve gotta tell yourself, sure,” J snickered, following Nova and slapping the button to send them to the top of the tower.

The elevator wasted no time in closing the doors and beginning its ascent, rising above the majority of Vinyl City as a mildly poppy tune from some lesser-known artist played in the cabin. Both J and Nova stood by the window, with J leaning back against the railing as Nova looked out upon the city, and as Nova watched the buildings grow smaller and the horizon expand, his heartbeat grew faster and more irregular once more.

After months of work, everything was finally coming to fruition. Every reworked component, improved design, and added and scrapped piece had hours of thought and debate put behind it from two of the greatest minds in Vinyl City.

And this was the final design.

Tatiana would be reviewing it minutes from now.

Truly, this was it.

“So, Nova,” J said, turning to Nova as the hum of his mechanical pieces provided an underlay for his voice.

Nova forced himself to take in a sharp breath as he turned to J.

“Yes?”

J tilted his head in Nova’s direction in a relaxed motion. “How’re you feeling?”

With a sigh, Nova turned around and mirrored J’s posture, leaning backward on the railing beside him as he shrugged. “Good question,” he muttered. “Whatever it is, it sure is something.”

J chuckled, tilting his head even further to the side. “That’s quite the range, there.”

“Indeed.”

“Care to try narrowing it down, just a bit?”

Nova stared at the bronze doors of the elevator.

“I don’t think I could even if I so wished.”

J hummed in reply.

“Fair.”

Nova dared not glance at the number above the elevator buttons, nor would he turn around and see how close they were to the top of the tower.

So instead, he focused his gaze on J.

The poppy melody in the elevator’s speakers faded into a new song, nearly indistinguishable from the first. Meanwhile, J tapped his metal fingers against the railing, creating a competing tune. He faced the door, and he maintained a relaxed posture while the fur of his jacket brushed against the lower portion of his monitor.

For a few moments, the conflicting melodies provided the only noise in the cabin.

Then, J pushed off of the rail and turned to Nova.

“Well, while I’ve got no clue where you’re at,” J said, straightening up, “I’d hope you’re at least _somewhat_ excited. I mean, I know I’m practically ecstatic to finally show off this thing!"

Despite his racing heart and mind, Nova allowed himself a small, amused chuckle.

“I’d bet.”

Immediately, J placed his hands on his hips, leaning forward until he was the same height as Nova.

“How much?”

“Please,” Nova scoffed, taking a step back. “As if I’d fall into that trap again.”

J feigned innocence, tilting his head to the side. “What? You’re saying you wouldn’t want to participate in a _friendly wager_?”

“J, knowing you, you’d try to find a way to get me to pay double after you loophole your way to victory.”

Leaning closer to Nova once more, J snickered. “Now, where the hell did you get _that_ idea?”

Nova shrugged, holding back laughter of his own. “Well, considering the fact that you’ve _never_ attempted to find your way around the rules before, I’d have to say-”

A soft ding rang throughout the elevator, causing J to stand at attention as Nova squared his shoulders. Meanwhile, the doors opened up to the hallway leading to Tatiana’s office, where the ticking of dozens of clocks eminnated from the walls, ceiling, and floor.

Before either man could take a step forward, though, J spoke.

“Nova.”

Tightening his grip on his briefcase, Nova looked back to J.

“Yes?”

J turned to Nova, his monitor’s display growing brighter than usual.

“Let me make _one_ bet.”

Nova managed a strained chuckle. “Forgive me, but I’d prefer to not be swindled out of my money.”

J rolled his nonexistent eyes.

“Fine,” he said, “how about a prediction, then?”

“I’ll allow it.”

J put a firm hand on Nova’s shoulder.

“This may be difficult, but I think the outcome of today is going to be good in the long run,” he said, his voice low, yet laced with an absolute giddiness. “I know it.”

Before Nova could respond, J stood tall and straightened his arms by his side.

“Alright, anyway,” he said, facing the hallway, “you ready?”

For the first time in a long while, staring at J didn’t force Nova’s heart into skipping a beat, nor did his head swim in that soft fog that had grown all too familiar.

Instead, Nova was left with an overwhelming sense of calm, crushing the doubts and worries that had plagued him only minutes ago. For the first time today, he stepped forward with no doubt, and his attention finally focused on the task ahead.

Most importantly, though, Nova breathed deeper knowing who exactly would be presenting the satellite by his side.

“Let’s be off,” Nova finally said.

J folded his arms behind his back and nodded. “Lead the way.”

And with that, Nova stepped out of the elevator, with J following close behind.

The walk lacked any conversation, with only the sounds of the ticking and the men’s footsteps left to compete with one another. The walls of the hallway were still lined with old posters and magazine covers, though they now sported quite a few newer headlines. Some detailed the recent changes Tatiana had made, while others spoke more of her past of Kul Fyra.

Oddly enough, the new wall hangings almost made the environment… Welcoming.

However, this wasn’t the only change to the top of the NSR Tower.

As Nova and J strode into Tatiana’s office, far more stood out to the DJ.

The first thing of note was the fact that all of the murals of the NSRtists were completely absent, replaced by clear windows that allowed sunlight to pour into the office. The next thing to make itself apparent was that Tatiana’s desk platform had lowered itself to be level with the main floor of the office. Lastly, at the desk sat an extra two chairs opposite to Tatiana, obviously meant for Nova and J.

The moment the two crossed into the office, Tatiana glanced up from her mountain of papers and peered over her reading glasses at

“Ah. DJ Subatomic Supernova, Neon J, good afternoon,” Tatiana said, her voice even as she sat her reading glasses on the desk and cleared some of the papers away. “You’re both right on time. Please, take a seat.”

J chuckled as he walked forward, forcing Nova to hurry to follow him. “Tatiana, it’s not as if we’re at a meeting-” his radar pinged just in time for his knee to hit the back of one of the chairs. After taking a moment to pause, he grabbed the chair and took a seat, crossing one leg over the other as he reclined. “I mean, we _are_ meeting, but not with the whole of NSR, so-”

“You’d prefer if I used J for today, then?” Tatiana asked, the ghost of a smile gracing her face.

J saluted Tatiana. “Yes, ma'am!”

“Alright then, J,” she said, tenting her fingers on the desk and turning her gaze over to Nova. “As for you…” She squinted at Nova, glancing between him and J before continuing, “ _Nova_ , will you be joining us anytime soon? Or would you rather stare at the windows for the time being?”

Nova turned his attention to Tatiana, hurrying forward. “Apologies,” he said, reaching the desk and setting his briefcase beside the chair before sitting down. “I was simply taking note of the fact that the murals are absent. It’s quite the shock.”

J’s radar pinged at that, his monitor turning in the direction of the windows to his left. “Wait, really?”

“Well, you haven’t exactly visited in a while,” Tatiana said to Nova, only to furrow her brow moments later as she shifted her attention. “As for you, J, I thought I already told you?”

J laughed, throwing himself back into his seat with enough force to nearly knock the chair over. “Well, I sure as hell don’t remember!”

Despite J’s complete lack of formality, Tatiana chuckled along with him. Meanwhile, however, Nova found himself mulling over Tatiana’s words.

He hadn’t visited Tatiana’s office since before the Rock Revolution.

It had been months, hadn’t it? Almost half a year by now.

How strange. It felt as though next to no time at all had truly passed since then.

Actually, no. That was incorrect. 

The first few weeks after the Rock Revolution had been relatively average. Things only began to speed up around the time Nova had truly begun talking with J.

Glancing at J, who continued to chat with Tatiana with animated gestures, it was no surprise to Nova as to what could have warped his perception of time.

Though he should have made an effort to tamp down the fondness that bubbled up, Nova allowed it to fester somewhere near his heart for now, as it allowed him some sense of calm to latch onto for the time being.

Meanwhile, as she conversed with J, Tatiana paused for only a moment to glance between Nova and J.

Nova froze, and that previous sense of calm cracked. Just slightly.

As if on cue, Tatiana sat taller than before, holding her head high as she folded her hands on the table.

“Anyways, J, I can fill you in on all the details later,” she said, her expression falling back into its usual stone cold neutrality as she turned to the DJ. “Nova, you requested this meeting for a reason, did you not?”

Nova nodded, mirroring Tatiana’s posture. “Yes, ma’am.”

Tatiana leaned forward by a fraction of an inch.

“Then please, tell me what brings you and J here.”

“Of course,” Nova replied, grabbing his briefcase from the floor.

The moment the briefcase hit the desk, J sat at attention, tapping both his feet against the wooden floor. Meanwhile, Tatiana stared at the briefcase with an expression barely skirting the border of confusion and curiosity.

“As we all know, NSR lost quite a lot in damages caused by the Rock Revolution,” Nova began, opening up the briefcase. “And while we’ve made plenty of progress in regards to rebuilding what we lost, there’s one thing that’s been left by the wayside entirely.”

Tatiana’s expression fell fully into confusion as Nova opened the briefcase and set the satellite blueprint on the desk.

Nova simply squared his shoulders, placing his confidence in his voice alone.

“After the crash of the NSR satellite, I gained quite a bit of insight pertaining to the flaws of my original design,” Nova said, sitting tall as he spoke. “Therefore, with his new information, I began work on a redesign of the satellite, eventually bringing J onto the project due to his engineering expertise.” He tapped on the blueprints. “Between our combined intellect, along with a dash of hindsight, we’ve managed a complete revision of the machine in our free time following the Rock Revolution. Our purpose here today is to discuss this redesign with you, and to walk you through what we’ve done.”

Tatiana stared down at the blueprint with a blank expression, betraying no reaction aside from a blink. Eventually, though, she turned to Nova, likely to inquire further about the device.

That was a good sign.

Just then, though, J spoke up.

“Most of our efforts have gone toward making the satellite as hands-off as possible with its repairs, meaning we’ll rarely need to send drones up after it.” He pointed to one of the solar arrays of the satellite, his radar pinging as he leaned forward over the desk. “As you can see with this antenna here-”

Nova gently moved J’s hand toward one of the antennae of the satellite. J, in response, set his finger down on the spot he’d been guided to.

“The antenna’s new model would have multiple sensors to detect damage done to it, and the satellite itself would be outfitted with the ability to replace its own antenna.” J returned to sitting straight in his chair, chuckling to himself. “All we’d need to do from the ground is give the command for the device to repair itself!”

While Tatiana raised an eyebrow, Nova found himself nodding along with everything J said, as hearing about the satellite from a voice other than his own finally showed Nova the truth of the project.

This satellite was positively _brilliant_.

Nova puffed out his chest as he picked up where J left off.

“The satellite has also been optimized in every way imaginable, meaning it will be infinitely more useful to NSR than the original design. The signal strength alone will be completely unrivaled.”

“And that’s something we could use now more than ever! Especially with the higher energy usage due to the now-booming indie scene,” J added.

“And that’s _without_ the inevitable improvements that will be made during construction.”

J drummed his fingers against the table. “Speaking of which, construction of the satellite shouldn’t even take too long.”

“Ah, yes!” Nova said, clasping his hands together. “The materials needed for the redesign shouldn’t be terribly difficult to come by, and considering the fact that we just built one satellite, another shouldn’t be too difficult to create.” He paused, pulling his hands apart and placing them palms down on the desk. “A loose estimate says the satellite will be back in orbit in no later than a year. However, that’s rough. If we took every factor into account, it would likely be closer to-”

Tatiana finally held up a hand, silencing Nova as she stared him down.

“DJ, you’ve actually failed to consider _many_ factors regarding this satellite,” she said, her voice smooth and cold as stone.

“Such as?”

Tatiana’s hair glowed a deep orange as she narrowed her eyes.

...She must have just been thinking.

Surely.

“Firstly, you seem to forget that NSR is currently preoccupied,” Tatiana finally replied, carefully enunciating each syllable spoken. “All of our energy and resources are currently going toward building up the parts of the city we’ve neglected. What makes you think we have time for a satellite at the current moment?”

While J had gone completely still in his seat, Nova offered Tatiana a flippant handwave.

“I never said construction will be starting right away,” Nova said, leaning back in his seat. “I was simply giving an estimate of how long everything will take from start to finish. We can start construction once things have stabilized more, obviously.”

Tatiana was unamused.

“You speak as though I’ve already approved the project.”

“Why would you not?” Nova asked, motioning to the blueprints. “While I understand waiting until the resources are available, we’ve polished the design of this satellite to the point of near perfection. There’s no issues that should bar the project from continuing forward in the future.”

Tatiana sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “The _design_ isn’t the major issue I have with this-”

“If this is about the fact that I didn’t speak to you before beginning work on the blueprints, you have my deepest apologies,” Nova interjected. “At the time, you were busy with the city’s affairs, and I thought it’d be best if-”

“DJ,” Tatiana grumbled. “I’m not concerned with what you do in your free time-”

“Well then, if that’s not the issue, then what is?”

“I don’t know,” Tatiana finally hissed, her hair sparking into a white-hot yellow as she stared Nova down. “Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that only six months ago, a simple security breach sent the last satellite _crashing through the atmosphere as a deadly mass of fire and metal_.”

J’s hands formed into tight fists by his side as his display span faster. Meanwhile, Nova gripped the edge of the table tight as that calm within cracked further and deeper than before.

After a moment of silence, Tatiana sat back in her chair.

“Forgive me for the outburst,” she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I just need to remind you of the fact that we got _lucky_. We only narrowly avoided injuring and killing hundreds, if not thousands of innocent civilians on that day.”

“Yes, yes, I understand that,” Nova muttered, taking a deep breath as he continued, “ _however_ , we can build better security around the satellite this time. With the help of experts in the field, we can be assured in the fact that will there be an event like that again-”

“And how will you prove this to the people of Vinyl City?” Tatiana asked, barely softening her voice as her hair returned to an embral simmer. “How do you think our citizens would react if we attempted to put _another_ satellite into orbit after last time?”

“What if we attempted to educate the masses?” J suggested, finally speaking up once more. His posture remained horribly tense as he moved his hands in tandem with his voice. “Nova’s event with the planetarium was a success, so what if we put more funds into that sort of thing? Perhaps it would warm up the general public to the idea of a new satellite.”

Now, that was a decent idea that just might work.

...It _needed_ to work.

“J, where exactly would these funds be coming from?” Tatiana sighed, her voice softer as she addressed J. “The overwhelming majority are going directly into the city, and the remainder is going into bringing your factory back online.”

“Once the factory’s done, maybe-”

“Once the factory is done, we’re moving onto helping the other artists; Nadia’s museum is still in disrepair, and the indie scene could use more attention than we’re currently giving it.” Tatiana’s features tightened ever so slightly as she stared down J. “So, unless you’re willing to either delay the repair of your factory by months or scrap the project entirely, there are and will be no funds to spare.”

J fell silent.

Meanwhile, a chill crawled up Nova’s spine.

“Not to mention, all this, and there’s a high possibility that the public wouldn’t latch onto these attempts to educate,” Tatiana said, leaning forward. “In that scenario, you would waste all that time that could have been dedicated to the factory.”

A longer silence followed.

The cracks slowly creeped through Nova’s chest and found their way to his throat.

“Are you willing to take that risk?”

“I…”

J trailed off, simply shaking his head.

Pinpricks lined Nova’s palms as he dug his fingertips deep into his own hands, and his head throbbed.

“I can’t delay the factory any longer,” J muttered, “for the sake of my boys’ health and safety.”

No.

There _had_ to be some sort of solution to this.

Tatiana nodded in response. “I see,” she muttered, turning to Nova.

“Tatiana,” Nova said, “if given more time, we could figure something out, I’m sure-”

“DJ,” Tatiana cut in, “I appreciate just how much work you’ve both put behind this project, but it’s something neither I nor the city asked for.”

_This couldn’t be happening._

“If I approved this project, we’d have to spend far too much time and energy on simply figuring out how to continue forward, which is simply unnecessary.”

“It’s not unnecessary-”

“NSR doesn’t have the capacity to take on a project like this, nor do we have the need.”

“Tatiana, _please_ -”

“My final answer is no.”

Finally, the cracks reached Nova’s head.

Silver and white lines webbed across Nova’s vision, sending a sharp noise echoing throughout the room, followed by a near-silence laced with the throbbing within Nova’s own head.

In the near-silence, Tatiana simply stared at the DJ with wide eyes. Meanwhile, J had turned his monitor toward the source of the noise.

Tentatively, J reached out and gently rested a hand on the DJ’s shoulder.

“Nova…”

In an instant, Nova pulled away from J and took to his feet.

His vision swam and his legs swayed beneath him, but he stood up straight regardless.

“I suppose that concludes our meeting, then,” Nova muttered, fighting an overwhelming pressure within his own lungs and windpipe as he spoke. “I’ll take my leave, now.”

“No,” Tatiana said, standing as well and staring down at Nova as she composed herself. “DJ, you _will_ sit back down. You’re obviously in no condition-”

“Goodbye,” Nova said, already on his way to the elevator.

Another moment of stunned silence followed.

And then, the sound of metal hitting the floor rang throughout the room.

“Nova, wait!”

Instead, Nova quickened his pace into a near sprint.

He only turned around after he’d reached the elevator and stepped inside, turning around to see J and Tatiana rapidly approaching.

Nova hit the button to close the doors before sending himself to the ground level.

He was dropping back down to Earth before J and Tatiana had even reached the hallway.

The period that followed quickly shifted into nothing more than a blur. One moment, Nova stared out at Vinyl City as he descended upon it, and in the next, he sat on a bench outside the NSR Tower, staring out at the ocean and the horizon beyond.

He couldn’t quite tell what exactly brought him back to reality. Perhaps it had been the sound of the ocean, the smell of fresh air, or the pain that shot through his head.

Whatever it was, it didn’t matter.

What mattered was the fact that months - years - no, an entire _lifetime's_ worth of work was all for naught.

This was after the countless hours of nights spent wide awake, researching, and all those times he denied himself countless comforts, instead choosing to focus on what was important. All those times he felt he was wasting his time, studying for hours, teaching at the university, and slogging through NSR’s more mundane affairs. All this potentially wasted time, though seemingly benign at first glance, had all been part of the plan building toward Nova’s one true goal.

But now, that goal was out of reach.

Now, all that time spent building toward that goal proved to be worthless.

Now, he had nothing.

He would become nothing.

And, barely a speck on this tiny rock floating through the vast confines of the universe, he was already nothing.

Struggling to breathe and curling inward on himself, Nova brought a hand to his head, only to recoil as a disgusting, dark, and dense shimmering substance made contact with his fingers.

...That had really just happened in front of J and Tatiana, hadn’t it?

After being unable to do something as simple as sell Tatiana on the satellite, he couldn’t even handle the rejection.

As he stared at his hand beyond the cracks in his vision, his stained fingers shook.

This was unbelievably pathetic.

_He_ was-

“Nova?”

J’s voice came from somewhere only a few paces behind Nova, and it came out softer than he’d ever heard it before.

Nova closed his hand.

“What?”

Nova barely managed to choke the word out, nearly suffocating under his own breath.

J didn’t respond immediately, instead walking over to the bench and taking a seat beside Nova.

He sat far closer than he needed to, his shoulder nearly touching Nova’s.

“You left your briefcase inside,” he finally muttered, setting the briefcase down beside Nova’s feet.

Nova dared not speak, mostly out of the fear of what he’d hear come out, regardless of what he intended to say.

So, neither of them spoke, instead listening to the steady wash of the sea, the whirring of J’s internal fans, and Nova’s irregular breathing.

Eventually, though, J turned his monitor to Nova.

“Hey.”

Nova turned his attention to the ocean.

“Hm?”

J leaned just a little closer to Nova.

“Are you okay?”

For what seemed like the hundredth time today, Nova’s lungs nearly collapsed on themselves.

“Sorry- damn it,” J sputtered, leaning back and sitting straight. Out of the corner of Nova’s vision, he made rapid gestures with his hands as he muttered, “I know you’re not alright, but Tatiana said you’ve got a nasty crack on your face and-”

“It’ll heal.”

“Oh.”

J gently tilted his head at Nova.

“And what about everything else?”

Nova’s shoulders tensed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

J sighed softly. “I know just how much this satellite meant to you, and I know this hurts,” he muttered. “I’m asking if you’ll be able to heal from that, too, though.”

A tight lump formed in Nova’s throat, and a wet warmth spread across his face, along with the cracks engraved into it.

Though a terrible thing to acknowledge, as he wiped away more of the shimmering liquid from his face, Nova had never been more thankful for J’s blindness than he was now.

Regardless of the state of J’s vision, however, he seemed to understand what this silence meant.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” he murmured, leaning in another inch.

Nova curled further in on himself.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” he choked out.

Just hearing his own weak, shaking voice left Nova’s insides twisting.

“Why not?”

“Quite frankly, I don’t think you understand the gravity of my current situation.”

J crossed his arms over his chest.

“Try me.”

Nova stared back at J.

“J,” Nova said, finally managing to solidify his voice once more. “You _won’t_ understand. I know this.”

“I’m pretty sure I will, but if I don’t, sometimes it’s good to just talk things out anyways.”

“I’m serious, J-”

“So am I.”

The ever-growing part of Nova that continued to grieve for his present, future, and wasted past life experiences, clawed at his insides with the desire to be angry, hurt, and in despair.

The rational part left Nova knew it wasn’t J’s fault.

Unfortunately, rationality hadn’t been Nova’s strong suit as of recent.

So, Nova’s joints locked up as his nerve ends burned. His lungs, stomach, and heart were set ablaze by something taking influence from both irritation and fear, forcing him to expel the contents of his mind as he curled his hands into fists by his sides.

“J, my entire life’s work has just proven itself to be a complete and utter waste! This satellite was going to cement my place in this puny planet’s history, and it just got rejected!” Nova snapped, taking to his feet as white hot stars danced across his vision. “Everything I’ve done up until now has been in preparation for today, and it was all for nothing, all because the wrong thing happened at the wrong time half a year ago.” He began pacing back and forth, clenching and unclenching his fists as he continued, “I’ve just lost _everything_ I’ve ever looked forward to. My entire life has been wasted, and my legacy will die out in a few generations, at best.”

Finally, Nova turned back to J, barely able to focus on him past the cracks in his vision along with the blurriness that accompanied his heaving chest.

“My life is practically over,” he spat. “How could you even _begin_ to understand such a thing?”

J still sat on the bench, his arms and legs crossed as he pointed his monitor at the DJ.

“Nova,” J said, his voice steady as he spoke, “did you know that I meant to retire after my last deployment?”

Freezing in his spot, Nova stared at J.

“...What?”

“I wanted to buy a house by the sea, you know,” J continued, tapping his fingers against his forearm. “I was gonna live a nice, quiet life from there on. I was excited to return to civilian life, and I planned on rebuilding the family business once I got there. I also thought that maybe, depending on who I met in that quiet seaside town, I’d start a family of my own if it wasn’t too late. I had a plan for when I got back, and I’d been looking forward to it since the day I was drafted. That plan was what kept me going.”

Nova shook as he hissed out, “What does this have to do with _anything_ -”

J pointed to his monitor, cutting Nova off.

“And then, I got unlucky,” he said. “My cruiser hit a naval mine. Over fifty percent of my men died, and another thirty percent were injured. I was told that my body was so horribly mauled and burned, they thought I’d died on impact. But, somehow, they found out I was still breathing, so they stuffed me into this robotic shell and prayed.”

In an instant, the burning sensation had left Nova, instead being replaced by a deep and heavy ache.

He dared not interrupt J a third time.

“I lost three of my senses, and I woke up in a body that was completely foreign. I was down for months, and then, once I could get out of bed, it took a year and a half to recover to a point where I could be self-sufficient again. Even then I still have to go to therapy every other week.” J pushed his shoulders back. “I was then discharged, broke, blind, and alone. The life I’d planned out was entirely out of my reach, even though I’d just spent nearly two decades in the Navy waiting for it.”

“...J, I’m sorry-”

“Don’t be, I’m not telling you any of this for pity,” J said, placing his arms by his side and sitting at attention. “What I’m actually trying to get through your thick skull is the fact that I understand exactly what you’re going through. Also, you're completely wrong.”

Nova shoved his hands in his pockets, standing in place instead of responding.

J simply sighed, scooting over on the bench and motioning Nova over.

“Please sit back down.”

Nova did as asked, though he couldn’t feel like legs anymore.

He sat close to J.

“Alright,” J said, facing Nova, “now, I’ve got a question for you.”

“Please, ask,” Nova said.

“After all that, would you say that my life was really ‘over’ after I got discharged, and that I’d wasted all of my time? Just because I couldn’t follow my original dreams?”

Nova sighed, bringing a hand to his now dry face.

“Absolutely not,” he muttered.

"Why not?"

"Well... You managed to rebuild your life, and things got better.” He motioned vaguely to J with his free hand. “You found success with the life experience you’d gained, regardless of its original goal, and you even got a family, in the end.”

“ _Exactly_ , and the same principle goes for you, too," J said, energy returning to his voice as he leaned toward Nova. "Even though things sometimes don’t work out, that doesn't mean your life is over. You can still rebuild and find something new to strive toward. Hell, you sometimes don’t even need completely new goals, just different outlooks on the situation.”

Nova paused.

“Explain your last point, please.”

“Well, for starters,” J said, “I know you were set on using the satellite to ‘secure your legacy’ or whatever it was you had in mind. But that’s obviously not how things were meant to turn out. At least, not in the way you originally intended.” He shrugged to himself. “Maybe you need to focus on things a little closer to home for now, then you’ll gain the perspective you need to properly go about things in future to-”

Suddenly, a high pitched chime came from J’s coat pocket, cutting him off.

“Oh,” he muttered, finally reclining properly on the bench and facing out toward the sea. “By the sound of it, that must be Rin. He’s probably wondering where I’m at.”

“I see,” Nova replied, his voice still low as he tilted his head at J. “I suppose you’d best be going, then?”

“Affirmative.”

J made no move to leave.

“If you want, I could give you a ride to a bus stop,” J eventually said, fidgeting with his own fingers as he spoke. “You wouldn’t have to walk all the way there, then.”

“Thank you, but I think I need some time to ruminate about everything you’ve just said,” Nova replied.

Though J’s shoulders slumped forward, he nodded softly.

“Understood.”

J finally moved, shuffling in his seat.

Instead of standing, though, J rested his hand on Nova’s upper back.

The contact with J’s hand felt as though it thawed ice, sending a strange warmth down Nova’s spine. It was gentle, yet firm, as though providing support against nothing in particular, and it finally sparked Nova out of his hazy state.

He’d never wanted to lean into someone else’s touch so badly.

And yet, Nova remained still, following J’s gaze out to the sea.

“Remember, Nova," J muttered, "you’ve still got plenty to look forward to in life. You just need to take some time to find those things.”

As he ended his sentence, J patted Nova on the back.

“I’ll remember that,” Nova murmured.

J nodded, pulling away from Nova and taking to his feet. “Take care of yourself, then,” he said, waving to Nova as he walked away from the bench. “I’ll talk to you again soon, okay?”

“...Okay.”

And with that, J was off, and Nova was left alone.

It was a feeling Nova could take or leave.

As he was left alone, though, J's words continued to float through Nova’s head.

And out of all he’d said, one part stood out to Nova.

Despite everything, he still had a chance to make sure his life didn’t go to waste.

He simply needed to place his attention somewhere closer to home; someplace he could actually make an impact, on the planet where he’d actually be remembered.

Many names that had made their way into the history books managed to do so by being great, and those who were great had a realm of some sort. And Nova had a realm, as well as an influence, within his own District.

He just needed to build it into something _truly_ great.

And now, he had all the time in the world, starting today.

Indeed, J had nothing to worry about.

Nova would be perfectly fine, for he had a new goal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops!! All Ouch. also nova what in the FUCK are you planning now goddamnit
> 
> I’ve actually got two songs for this chapter! One song is Silver Platters by Les Gold, while the other is Mommy by R.I.P.
> 
> (btw good job to those of yall who saw this coming because... 👀)


End file.
